


As the World Changes

by Riptide14



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 06:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 65,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3967621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riptide14/pseuds/Riptide14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"My name is Percy Jackson. 19 years ago, an ancient titan named Kronos rose up against the Olympians and destroyed the peace that the world was in for years. He killed most of the demigods, enslaved the gods, and put the humans were under his harsh rule. Now 17 years later, I was prophesied to defeat Kronos and restore the world. This is my story."</p><p>AU-Kronos rises b/4 Percy is born and now years later, Percy has to claim his destiny and defeat Kronos to restore the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waves of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Riptide14 here,  
>  For those who don't know me, this is my second story in the PJO world. I have one complete story and this story and another are in progress currently. Check out my dash or my fanficiton under the same name for those works. Please comment and review I love hearing from you all. A big thank you goes out to all of my readers and followers who have supported me and allowed me to explore this AU. And of course Rick Riordan for creating the lovely world of Percy Jackson. I do not own (sadly) Percy Jackson or any of his characters.
> 
> Enjoy
> 
> Summary:
> 
> Set in a time where Kronos rose before Percy was born. Nineteen years ago the gods lost the 2nd Titan war to Kronos. Some remained good while others decided to join him for the sake of not being thrown into Tartarus. The world became an oppressed civilization where Kronos ruled with cruelty and terror. He forbade human and god relationships out of fear that some demigods would somehow figure out a way to stop him and Kronos killed every last demigod until they were almost extinct. But some survived and even some gods broke the new laws. Now fast forward to the present where the world has separated into small nations, each ruled by a titan or a god who serves Kronos. In a country called Olympia, a young man named Percy lives with his mother on the ruins of what used to be known as New York City. As the world waits for a savior to free them does this 17 year old have what it takes to save the world?

_Prelude: "My name is Percy Jackson. 19 years ago, Kronos rose up against the Olympians and destroyed the peace that the world was in for years. He killed most of the demigods, enslaved the gods, and put the humans were under his harsh rule. Now 17 years later, I was prophesied to defeat Kronos and restore the world. Now tasked with taking down one of the cruelest beings in my life, I need to become something else. I have to become SOMEONE else then I was before my life changed._

_This is my story."_ _  
_

 

_Chapter 1_

Percy

_Some people think that one's destiny is shaped by preexisting factors and that there is no way to change one's fate. Others believe that they can change their future by their own standards and rules. I would like to believe that I am allowed to define my life without an established outcome that has already been prophesized before I even existed. But sometimes fate doesn't allow too much wiggle room for change and somehow you are thrusted into a life and destiny that you did not want. At least that is how it is for me._

The early morning sun cracks through the broken window and into my face. I groaned and rolled over, wanting to go back to my dreams. I always have had weird dreams and they started once I became 12, but my mother and I never knew why. Sometimes they are nightmares and other times they are about things that will happen. My dream last night was very strange. There was lush green grass, laughter and people seemed genuinely happy. This world in the dream seemed so calm and peaceful, not at all like the world I grew up in.

A couple of years before I was born, an evil titan named Kronso, who was an older god before the Olympians, rose up against the gods and defeated them. The world and all of civilization fell and Kronos became the supreme ruler of the universe, putting him back into his former glory. Some of the gods went to his side and those gods and titans rule small countries throughout the world. Kronos rules with an iron fist and insane cruelty, killing people for fun, making women his toys and starving his subjects. I live in Olympia, ruled by Ares, god of war. He is a bit of an ass. He attacks other countries for fun, so my country is constantly at war so my village is always under populated. And since most of the men and young boys are fighting, the women and children have to do all of the heavy labor. So since I was about six, I have been working the fields and the factories with my mom. But this year, since I am of age, I now have to go to the frontlines and fight senseless wars. My mother cries a lot during these last few days that we have with each other and I honestly can't handle leaving her. I am all she has left and if she loses me, she will be forced into a life of slavery because I wouldn't be here to protect her. Around here if you don't have someone protecting you somehow Ares will find a way for you to entertain him and I sure as hell will not let that happen to my mother.

So I leave in 3 days for the front. Am I scared?

Yes.

Do I have any fighting abilities?

No.

Am I screwed?

Yep.

My mother calls from the other room, "Percy, are you up?"

I call back, "Unfortunately!"

I hear her laugh as she pulls back the sheet that separates my "room" and the rest of the hut. Our house is basically a shack because of our very low income. I can see that she has already cried this morning because her eyes are all watery and red.

I get up and give her a hug.

" Mom, I'll come back don't worry." I smile and we both know that we have no idea if that is true or not.

She hugs me tight for a moment and then pulls back and wipes some tears away.

"Come on you need to go get fresh water for the week before it's all out. Make sure you go to the well and come right back. Don't get into any trouble." She gives me her usual stern look.

My mom knows me too well.

I sigh and say, " Alright Mom."

I go to my floor and look for one of my shirts. I pick one up and sniff it to make sure it doesn't smell too bad.  _I only have 3 shirts and a two pairs of pants so give me a break!_

I run my hands through my unruly black hair a little bit and grab our water bucket. We are allowed a certain amount of water per week and the water from the well always runs out quickly so I have to hurry or my mom will be very pissed. Getting the water isn't that hard for me, when I get to the well the water kind of just flows into the bucket when I bring it down. It's really weird, but hey it makes my chore easier so I can't complain. I run out of my hut and through the thick, dark woods.

My mom has told me about what the world was like before I was born and it reminded me a lot of my dream from last night. I envied that life so much. If only there was a way to change the world and get it back to the way it was I would do it. I want a better life for my mom and myself.

I walk up to the well and lower the bucket when I notice on the other side of the well there is a girl with fiery red hair. She is being shoved around by some of Ares's guards. They are touching her body and bringing her closer to their own bodies. It's kind of hard to see there and not too anything about it.  _Sorry Mom_.

" Aye sweet thing, how about you bring your water bucket over to my house and I can give you all the water you want, and a little more." One guard says as he pushes her to another guard who laughs and hugs her as he runs his hands through her hair.

" Get off me!" She screams as she struggles to get away from that one. This just pisses me off and I look around before putting down my bucket and I walk up to one guard. They don't see me coming.  _Really sorry Mom_.

I put my hand on one of the guard's shoulder and say, " Hey!"

The guard turns around and just as he is about to say something, I throw a punch and knock him to the ground. The girl falls to the ground with him and gets up. She looks at me and says a silent thank you as the other guards attack and push me to the ground. I try to fight back managing to kick one down but there are too many and I don't have anything to defend myself with. They begin to kick me hard in the ribs and I feel something snap. I cough up some blood and right before one lays another blow on me, a booming voice says.

"Enough!"

They all stop and bow and say, " Lord Ares"

Ares comes up to them and says, " Get up you idiots." They all stand up and then Ares kneels down next to me. I look up at him with absolute hatred, my face is throbbing and one of my eyes is closed shut from all the blood. He takes my chin and holds it firmly and says," Looks like you could have been a good solider with the right training. But I need soldiers not rebels so you serve no use to me anymore. Foolish boy. I now have to kill you for assaulting my guards."

I spit in his face and say, "Screw you."

He is really pissed and the ground starts to rumble with his anger. He gets up and motions to the guards. They lift me up and make me face him. He punches me hard in the gut and as I double over to cough up some more blood, he whispers through his teeth.

"I was going to make it a quick easy death but for that you will die in your own blood. Take him to the whipping post. I will do this myself."

The guards grab my arms and shove me to the whipping post, which was in the middle of the square. The whole town is watching and like most whippings that we were forced to watch over the years, it was going to be brutal. I know exactly what's going to happen and it is not going to be good. The guards rip my shirt off and push me up against the post. I am in much pain that I slide down the post. One guard grabs my hair and pulls me back up. He then proceeds to lock my hands in the chains on the top so that my bare back is facing Ares. I was trying to think of a way to fight back or escape because I can't die and leave my mother to defend her. I can't. That wouldn't be fair especially after she told me not to get into trouble, which I did. I have had some minor scoffs with Ares's guards but none of them were this bad. Ares now walks up and he has a huge whip in his hand. And then it started.

Ares winds his arm up with all of his strength and he whips my back. I scream out in pain. I could have sworn I felt the whip rip some of my skin off. He winds up again and again until I was breathing hard and my whole body trembles. From what I could see with my good eye, there was blood all around my feet. I looked out to all of scared faces in the crowd. I have known most of these people my whole life. I see my friends with tears in their eyes as they knew just as I did that I couldn't get out of this one. I scan the crowd one more time and I see a girl with a brown hood around her head. She had rags on which was usual for most of the people in this town. But what really stood out were her eyes. They were grey and intimating, she looked like someone you would not want to mess with. But she was really pretty and it was too bad I was going to die or I would have definitely said hi. Ares then strikes me again and afterwards he stops and comes up to my good eye and whispers in my ear.

" I have heard your mother is a very pretty lady. Maybe once I am done with you I will pay her a visit. Or maybe I'll kill her for her son's treason. There is nothing you can do you."

I clenched my jaw and all of this anger building up inside me. I have never felt such a rage before. I would not let my mom become his little plaything and I will not let him kill her. My anger grows and he starts to laugh.

" Oh look he is getting angry! Are you a mommy's boy? That doesn't seem very manly!"

All of the guards started laughing and some came and spit in my face. The anger inside me is about to explode. But then I felt a tug in my gut, a tug I have never felt before. I have no idea what happened next.

One minute Ares and all of his guards were laughing and then the next thing I know there is this loud rushing noise, almost like water. I look and see that the crowd is screaming while running away as a wave crashes down on the guards and Ares. The wave sweeps them away with its current. The tug vanished and the anger dies. I am panting hard and my body is on fire. But I was still chained to the post and I know when Ares recovers he will kill me right away. But I have no idea how a huge wave formed. It was almost as if it was magic or something. I felt cold hands on the handcuffs and they pick the lock and free my wrists. I collapse on the ground and lay on my back, panting hard. As I lay there, I opened my good eye and saw the grey eye girl looking down at me. She has a stern, determined look on her face. I knew she isn't messing around.

" We need to go. They will come back and kill you."

She offers her hand to me and helps me slowly get up. When I was stable, I looked at her and ask, " Who are you?"

Her stormy eyes turned to me and say, " My name is Annabeth Chase."


	2. The Truth

**The Truth:**

**Percy**

_**"** My name is Annabeth Chase."_

I looked at her and answered," My name is Per-"

She looks at me coldly," We don't have time for introductions or whatever you were attempting to do. We need to get you out of here. I don't know what you did but we could use someone like you."

I am really confused and she starts to walk away before I could comprehend what she was talking about.

" What do you mean "we? And hey where are you going?" I yell as I do my best to catch up to her.

" We need to hurry. Ares now knows whom you are and he is going to track you down and kill you. He won't stop until you are dead. We need to get to base."

" What base? Wait hold on who are you?" I stop dead in my tracks.

She huffs and says," I already told if you would just listen. You will find out soon enough."

" I can't leave my mother."

She stops and says," Look you either come with me or you and your mother are dead. Now take me to your mom and I will explain to her what is going on. She will understand. And then we will have to go."

I don't want to argue again because my injuries are killing me. We walk very fast to my hut. My mother must have seen me coming up because she runs out and says," Oh gods what happened?"

" I'm fine Mom, some guys were giving that red head girl a hard time and I kind of...punched one."

" Percy Jackson didn't I tell you not to cause any trouble! Now-"

" Ms. Jackson? Hi I am Annabeth Chase. Percy is in trouble because he used his...abilities. I assume you know where he needs to go." Annabeth gives her a look and my mom's face falls.

My mom nods and goes inside for a moment. She comes out with something in her hands. It is wrapped in a fine blue cloth, something that was very expensive.

My mom hands it to me and she says," Percy, you're father wanted you to have this. It's time for you to fulfill your destiny."

I take the cloth and unwrapped it my fingers are trembling. I had no idea what was going on and if this was something from my dad...it must be important. I never knew my father but my mom said he died in the second Titan war. I unwrapped it and it is a sword.

" This sword is called Riptide. Your father made it for you. It's a very powerful weapon so use it well. Now go. You need go. "

" But Mom what about-"

" I will be fine Percy. Go."

I look at her and she has tears in her eyes. I hug her tightly, not sure when or if I will ever see her again. She then whispers in my ear.

" You will be the greatest hero the world has ever known."

She pulls back and touched my face gently. I am choking up and Annabeth finally says," We need to go now Percy."

I nod and look at my mother one last time before Annabeth and I ran off into the woods.

A little while later, we were running through the woods and I have to stop. Annabeth looks at me annoyed with our stop and I try to catch my breath.

I ask her," Ok what the hell is going on?"

Annabeth said," I said I would tell you later, we need to go."

"No that is not how this will work. You either tell me what's going on and who you are or I am going back and you can find someone else for you stupid base or whatever." I yell.

Her stormy eyes are intimating and she sighs.

" Fine. Long ago there were demigods who were children of gods and humans. They lived in a camp and fought monsters. Then Kronos rose up and as you know he overthrew the gods. From there he killed all of the demigods and forbade the gods from having relationships with humans. But some of them didn't listen. That's where you and I come in. You are a demigod."

"What?" I say in disbelief.

She continues with an angry sigh," There are groups of people like us that are an underground resistance group. We have been training and planning for many years. Our goal is to take down the regime and restore the world. But long ago there was a prophecy and that is why Kronos killed all the demigods. I have reason to believe, and I am sure your mother thinks so as well, that you are the demigod of that prophecy."

" But I am not a hero. I can't even fight. I don't have any special powers. I'm just...me."

She gives me a look and starts walking ahead. But all of a sudden we heard loud howls and rustling of the leaves, someone was coming this way.

" They found us. Hurry we need to get to base!"

We start running and as we run further, I start to fade. My body is already on fire and running isn't helping. Annabeth stops to help and she puts my arm around her neck and we continue running. The howls are getting closer and finally Annabeth said," It's right up there." She points to a tree.

" That's a tree!" I yelled as we ran toward it.

" I know that dumbass! Just stay quiet!" She says as we approach the tree. She goes up to it and does this weird knocking thing. The trunk of the tree opens up and she looks at me and said," Come on!"

I hesitated. I am not sure I could trust her. I mean me being a demigod? It sounded like a bunch of crap.

" What the hell are you doing come on!"

The howls are coming closer and I finally give in. I go inside the trunk with her and I don't see how two people could fit but somehow we did. The trunk closed and the base of it opened. And we fall down the trunk and I have no idea what I am going to find.


	3. The Discovery

**The Discovery:**

**Percy**

Falling through a tight dark space was something I never want to do again. I keep screaming while Annabeth just keeps still and finally she yells.

"Would you knock it off! Keep your arms and legs together and when we hit the floor, do NOT lock your knees."

I take this seriously because I did not want anymore broken body parts. Finally, I saw some light at the bottom of my feet. We are heading towards it very fast and we hit the ground where I collapse on the impact. Annabeth tucks and rolls out and got up unscathed. I, on the other hand, probably broke my ankle.

" I told you not to lock you're legs!"

" I didn't!" I scream as I roll in pain.

She smirks and says," I guess you are just fragile."

I look at her and before I could say anything back, people begin to swarm us. They all are wearing black leather jumpsuits with an orange flying horse over their hearts. One of them took off Annabeth's rags and she had her own jumpsuit on underneath it. She then took her scarf off and long, blond curls came down her shoulders. She looks good with out those rags on.

" Percy." Annabeth says as she turns to look at me.

I got out of my trance and say," Yah?"

" You were staring at me."

"No I wasn't!" I lie and she rolls her eyes in anger.

A guy comes up to me and helps me up on a ledge and says," Don't let Luke catch you looking at her like that."

" Who is Luke?"

Annabeth interjects," My boyfriend."

" You have a boyfriend?"

" Oh shut up. How about you go get some thicker skin so you don't keep getting hurt and have to have me save your ass."

The guy then lightly presses my side and I wince in pain. He checks out my bloody back and he then says," What the hell happened to you? Looks like you got a couple broken ribs, ankle and you're back is disgusting. But let's go get you some ambrosia. ."

"What's that?"

" Just some medicine that will heal everything."

I don't believe that nor do I believe that I am a demigod. It doesn't make sense. I ask the guys helping me out " Hey thanks for helping me out. What's your name?"

" Will."

He leaves and I am alone with Annabeth. People are talking to her and they continue to look at me and I know they are talking about me. I ignore them and finally get a chance to look around. The base, as Annabeth called it, was all white. There were computers everywhere and maps on the wall. On one of the computers it had pictures of some people. I looked harder and saw Ares. It must have been pictures of the other ruling gods. Will finally comes back and gives me some ambrosia and instantly I felt better. My ankle is healed and I put some weight back on it.

" Annabeth!"

I turn to look where it was coming from. There is a tall blond guy with a scar on his face. He look to be a littler older than me. Annabeth rushes towards him and he met her halfway. She jumps up and wraps her legs around his waist and kisses him passionately. The guy wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer. It was really awkward. Like almost as awkward as the time I caught two dudes banging in the woods behind my house. Yikes. I turns to Will and say," So I am guessing that is Luke?"

He nods and says," They have been together for 2 years. If everything works out, they will probably get married. Everyone loves them together. They are like the perfect couple."

" Do they always do that?"

" Sometimes. But Luke just got back from a really dangerous mission and she hasn't seen him in a month, so it's alright with me."

I turn to look at them and they are still going at it. I felt a little queasy watching them and mutter," Guess they don't mind a little PDA."

" Percy Jackson." a commanding and feminine voice said behind me.

I turn around in surprise. How did this she know my name? When I turn around, I see an older version of Annabeth. She has a tailored grey business suit on with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. The suit brings out her fierce grey eyes. I have no idea who this person is. Maybe Annabeth's older sister?

" Yes?" I respond.

She looks me over and in her strong and commanding voice says, "You don't know who I am? Ignorant fool. I am Athena, goddess of wisdom."

"Wait if you're a god, shouldn't you be working for Kronos?"

Her nostrils flare with anger and she says, " Unlike like your-Annabeth and Luke would you stop making out and get off each other!" She screamed.

I turn to look back at them and they are getting off each other and blushing. I turn back to the goddess and she continues.

" No. I do not work for that monster. I have carried on the spirit of Olympus with some of my other brethren. We have been preparing for the last 19 years to take back the world and restore the Olympians back to power. And after what the prophecy has said and assuming my daughter is correct, you are the key to that plan."

Honestly I have no idea why everyone keeps saying I am the guy from this great prophecy. I can barely fight, much less save the world.

" Ok look. I don't have any super-human powers. I am not even a demigod. My dad died in battle."

Athena grunts, " You still don't believe what Annabeth already told you? You still believe your mother's lies…pathetic. Show him to the simulation room. We will see who you really are and so will you."

She begins to glow and I remember from my childhood to look away. One day when I was young, Ares decided to punish all of us in the town square. And when he was done, he disappeared and began to glow like Athena. My mother told me to look away or else I would catch on fire. Good thing I remember that piece of advice. As I open my eyes again, I think about the last thing she said to me. What was she talking about? Did she know something more about me?

Annabeth and Luke come up and Annabeth says," Sorry about my mom...she can be difficult."

"I can see."

Annabeth says," Luke can you take him to get ready? I have to talk with my mother."

He nods and Annabeth gives him a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. Luke then turns to me and says," Ok Jackson we need to go and get you ready."

He heads down the hallway and I follow him. Everything is white and very clean. Kids my age and older are racing around with papers. Everyone is wearing the black jumpsuits with the orange horse on it. I look at the windows on the walls and inside them there are rooms. Down in the rooms, people are training with dummies. I look back up and on the ceiling I notice signs in Greek. _Wait how did I know that?_  I look up again and I now I can read them once again.  _What is happening?_

Luke leads me through this door and inside there are weapons and armor. Luke picks some up and looks back at me. He looks me over and then throws the armor at me.

"This should fit you. Do you know how to wear armor?

I must have had a very confused look on my face because he then hits his forehead and says, "What am I saying of course you don't. Sorry."

He comes over and helps get the armor on me. Once he is done, we walk to the big black door.

" Just show us what you got. Prove to us that you are this "Child of the Prophecy." Show Athena that Annabeth was right."

But before I could even say a thank you, the door opens and he shoves me inside.

It is pitch black and silent. The only thing I could hear was my ragged breath. I am still a little beaten up from earlier but whatever Will gave me helped a lot. The lights suddenly come on. I am in a big green field with woods on either side of me. I look around and it is a clear and beautiful day. I have never seen such beauty before, only in my dreams.

A cold female voice comes on a microphone," Begin."

Suddenly the ground starts shaking. There is a loud roar behind me and I turn around. Immediately know I am screwed. In front of me is a huge cow thing with two big horns. It kicks its back legs and gets ready to charge at me.

Shit.

It charges right at me and the only thing I know how to do was side step away from it. This of course makes it more angry because the monster cow thing turns around and comes right back at me. But this time it knocked into me hard and pushes me a couple feet away. I landed weirdly on my shoulder and slowly got back up and the monster comes charging again. But this time, I was the one who was angry. I side step and quickly slice at the monster. I cut some skin and it roars in pain. The monster charges again and this time I do something that was so stupid even I can't believe I did it. While it is coming at me, I get down and roll underneath it. One of its horns clips my back but I try not to feel the pain. As I roll, I get Riptide and sliced its stomach. I roll out from it and get up. The cow thing collapses and disappears. I am breathing heavily and before I could even catch my breath the scene changes.

I am right outside my mom's hut. The woods are barren once again and the sky is a sickening grey. Out of nowhere, I get knocked to the ground and punched hard in the face. When I had time to swallow the pain, I realize that one of Ares's guards was on top of me. I struggle underneath him while he laughs. I can't feel Riptide in my hand and when I look around in desperation, I see it lying on the ground a couple feet away from me.

" Jackson! Say goodbye to your law-breaking mother!" I hear someone yell at me.

I look to the side and see Ares with my mother in his hands. He shoves her around and she looks at me with pure terror in her eyes.

"MOM!"

I try to break free of Ares's grasp, but nothing is working and his grip gets tighter. Ares now has his arms around my mom's neck and I know I don't have that much time left and I have to act quickly. I can hear a river a couple of feet away and I know that is my last option. I close my eyes and look for that familiar tug in my stomach. I feel it and concentrate on moving it away from the bend and over to Ares. Sure enough, a huge wave comes on top of Ares, washing him away from my mom. His guards get distracted, which allows me to punch him in the face and kick him off. I quickly get up and run to my mom.

But then the scene changes and I yell in frustration.

"NOOO!"

I am sick of this twisted mind game they are playing with me. I have had enough.

Then the scene changes once again and I am pissed.

"Seriously!"

The scene now appears to be in a cave. I try to move and find my arms are tied to a chair. In front of me, Annabeth is also tied to a chair and a person in a mask is holding a knife to her throat. I struggled against my chains even I don't know why. I just met Annabeth and even though I don't know her that well, she still saved my life. So that means I owe her and I guess that this counts as payback and maybe a little bit of friendship. So yay, Annabeth is my friend. The captor says, " Now tell me where the base is or your friend here gets it."

"What base?" I ask.

"Don't tell him Percy! Don't worry about me, I will be fine."

"Annabeth stop. I am going to get you out of this."

"JUST TELL ME WHERE THE BASE IS JACKSON!" the captor screams.

"Percy, don't!"

Suddenly, everything goes back to being pitch black. I collapse to the cold, hard floor and my head is killing me. The room finally stops spinning and I look up to the walls and I know Athena and everyone else is watching me.

"What the hell! You have no right to get inside my head!" I scream.

A flat and cold female voice comes on the microphone.

"I have every right Jackson. I needed to know if you were the prophecy child and I needed to know if you could be on the team. We tested your fighting abilities with the Minotaur. They are very impressive for the lack of experience you have. We then tested how well you think under pressure and with limited options. You are also very good in that category. The last test was your loyalty to the cause and others. As we saw with your mother and Annabeth, you are fiercely loyal to your friends and family. But as we also saw that is your fatal flaw. You would rather give up our cause then lose someone close to you. Remember that Percy because when enemies know you're weaknesses, it could be disastrous. Now for the important matters you are the prophecy child, which means you have to go under strict training until the time comes for the prophecy. Oh and incase you haven't figured it out yet; you are also the son of Poseidon, god of the seas. Welcome to the Resistance. "


	4. Dawn of A New Friendship

**Dawn of a New Friendship**

**Percy:**

I know I heard what Athena said but I feel like I couldn't hear. I was too shocked. My father is the sea god. It doesn't feel real because I never met him and I have no idea if it's true or not. Sure, I can control water but that doesn't mean anything did it? As I am escorted out of the stupid, freaky room and to my supposed "cabin" I can't help but feel like I am in a dream. But I know I wasn't. Athena is a god and she knows the truth and I am part of the prophecy. I go into my room and look around. It is a small windowless room with grey walls. The only thing on it is a sea green trident. But it looks freshly painted, so I guess not a lot of my…. siblings were here if there are any at all. Luke catches my attention before closing the door.

" Get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow. Briefing is at 8. Don't be late."

I nod and he closes the door, which is good because I wanted some alone time. It was a long and eventful day. My old clothes are laid on my bed and I changed out of the uniform. I kept my shirt and hopped in my bed and now I guess I am a lot more tired then I thought because as soon as my head hits the pillow, I was out. But my dreams tonight weren't pleasant.

_I am in a dark cold room. Golden flames lines the walls and makes it easier to see where I was. An ancient voice calls behind me._

_"You know you can't win."_

_I turn to the voice but no one was there. I have Riptide in my hand and it shines in the strange lighting. The voice calls from another side of the room._

_" You will fail and the world will suffer from you're actions. How can you win boy? You barely even know who you are!" The voice starts to laugh and I scream._

_"Stop it! I WILL defeat you! You're reign of terror is OVER!"_

_"Is it boy?"_

_Suddenly, an image appears on the wall. Cities are in flames and there are screams from all over. I recognize the place. It was my home and I failed them._

_" Noooo!"_

_The voice laughs and the room shakes with his laughter._

I sit up in my bed. I am panting hard and am very sweaty.  _What the hell was that nightmare about? Who was I talking to? Am I going to fail?_  I lay back down but roll around, trying to get comfortable but nothing is working. I huff and get out of bed. I put my shirt back on and go outside to walk around and hopefully no one will catch me. As I was walking, someone taps on my shoulder. I quickly turn around, knowing I am going to be in trouble but thankfully it was only Annabeth. She smirks and says.

" Bad dream?"

I stare at her confused and she rolls her eyes.

" Gods you're really thick headed. You're head must be full of seaweed. Let me make it clearer for you Percy. Did you have a bad dream?"

I understand now and nod, "Yah. And hey, my head isn't full of seaweed last time I checked."

" Sure it isn't Seaweed Brain."

"Hey! And what are you doing up um miss wise head. No um-wise girl! Yay why are you up wise girl hmm?"

"I had a bad dream too. Do you have them a lot?"

"Yah ever since I was 12."

She nod and says," That's when most demigods get them. Hey do you want to see something?"

I am hesitant. This girl is very different.  _But in a good way don't get me wrong._  I guess what I mean is one minute she could pull a knife on you and the next minute she could be all smiley like nothing is wrong.

" Do I want to?" I ask.

" You might. It's a place I go where I have nightmares. No one knows about it though."

" Then why are you showing me it? You have a boyfriend you know."

She rolls her eyes and says, " Because for some reason I feel like I could trust you more then Luke. Lately he has been distant. I don't know if his mission last month changed him but something is up. And you're my friend Percy."

"Really?"

"Yah you dumbass."

" Oh. Well thanks Annabeth."

" No problem Seaweed Brain." She smirks and continues, " Come on."

She walks with me through the base and then she stops and pulls back a wall. She looks around and motions me to follow. There is a ladder and she starts to climb up. When we got to the top, we are outside. I look around and we are on the top of a tree.

" Come over here." Annabeth motions for me to come and sit next to her on a thick branch. I sit next to her and look out at the scene in front of us. The sun was rising and the sky is full of bright yellow and red. It was perfect.

" Thank gods Apollo is on our side. "

"What?"

"Nothing."

I look out and think about my future and my nightmare. Everything was so unclear and confusing. I keep looking out and suddenly Annabeth asks.

" What are you thinking about?"

I look back and am surprised to see her looking at me. Her grey eyes sparkle against the morning light. And man they are really beautiful.  _Wait what did I just say?_

" Everything. "

"That's a lot to think about. But don't worry Percy. My dad used to say that to me "Don't worry about the world. Worry about the here and now." Everything will come together Percy. Trust me."

"Thanks. Are you and your dad close."

"He is dead."

" Oh. I am sorry."

" No its fine. He was killed in a fire. Our house was hit by lightning because of Ze-" she silences herself before she can finish.

" By who?"

"Nothing. We should be getting back. Briefing is soon." She stands up and I stand up with her.

" Annabeth?"

She looks at me and I say, " Thanks. This helped a lot."

Annabeth smiles and says," No problem Seaweed Brain."

I roll my eyes and follow her back down the ladder.


	5. Gone

**Gone:**

**Percy**

* * *

2 weeks later

The blaring horn is loud and annoying as I yawn and sleepily get out of bed. I don't think the horn is necessary for a such a small space but I don't think many people would listen to my suggestions for improvement. As usual, someone bangs on my door and says.

" Newbie on you're feet! Let's go!"

I groan and roll off the bed and fall flat on my face. I rub my cheek as I get up and get ready. Even though I have been here for awhile and its not my first day here the early morning wake up calls really suck. I put the black jumpsuit on again much to my dismay. I missed being able to wear whatever I wanted. I miss my make shift bed and the crappy roof above me that leaked when it rained. But most of all I miss my mom. I miss her so much and I just hope she is okay.

I get Riptide and leave my room to start walking to the cafeteria or the pavilion as some people call it. Everyone is sitting with the little siblings that they have. But I sit alone because I have no siblings. I am alone. I can't sit with others because it's against the Resistance's rules. I move some of my eggs around on my plate and yawn tiredly. I had another nightmare last night which accounts for my lack of sleep. They have been plaguing my life and most nights I can go back to bed, and other times I go to the tree. I have met Annabeth up there a couple of times and we have talked about our parents and the Resistance.

Over the last two weeks we have gotten a lot closer. She has told me a lot about the Resistance and the gods. When Kronos took over, he gave the gods an option; to serve him or live eternity in pain in the pits of Tartarus. But luckily Athena had an escape plan and decided to go underground. Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Hera dropped off the face of the earth to become part of the Resistance. They stopped fulfilling their responsibilities and literally disappeared. In rage, Kronos killed every last demigod. Annabeth told me in was a battle in New York City, the city that was before Olympia. She told me the demigods held their ground for 3 days. But eventually, they lost and were all killed. Afterwards, Kronos made a law forbidding the gods to have human relationships but as I already know no one really listened as I am proof of a broken law. Aphrodite, Ares, Demeter, Zeus, and Hades have served Kronos for the last 19 years and according to Annabeth, they are just as ruthless as Kronos. But not Annabeth or anyone else has told me about my dad. I asked Athena and she basically told me to get lost or she will kill me whether or not I was the prophecy child. But I need answers, I need to know why no one talks about my dad. I have to find out the truth.

" Percy?"

I come back out of my thinking and see Annabeth sitting next to me. I look around and we are in the meeting room or the war room as it is called.

Athena is at the chalkboard talking about the latest mission. Luke is standing next to her looking as stiff as a statute.

" You ok?" Annabeth whispers.

" Yay I'm just tired. "

" Another bad dream?" she asks.

I nod and try to pay attention. Athena talks about the plan, which is to sneak into Ares's mansion to get some information that Luke said he came across in his last quest. He has been going on a lot of missions and he is never around. But when he is, he is all over Annabeth, which makes me the awkward third wheel and most times I just try to stay away. Annabeth tells me she still cares for him but she is convinced he is cheating on her because he never Iris messages her when he is gone and they never talk about anything anymore. But I don't think he is, at least I hope not. He never comes home with a present to hide the fact that he did something bad. Luke still acts the same around Annabeth. So I don't know what he is doing but he know he isn't cheating.

" Luke will take a team to go into the mansion. Another team will keep the look out and the third team will make a distraction in the square. The mission will go as planned next week. But today I want a group of you to go with Luke to scout out the area and try to find weak points in the security. Percy, since you have lived there you will also be going. "

Everyone turns to me and I am frozen. I haven't gone back into any sort of combat situation since Annabeth saved me. I am barely trained as it is, I mean I just finally beat Luke in a duel.

" Um, I don't think I am ready with all due respect." I speak up.

Athena glares at me and says," Well how are you supposed to know you're not ready if you never try? You're going Jackson."

I roll my eyes and slouch in my chair. Some people around me snicker and I hear someone say " Newbie is a little scared. Figures."

Athena assigns the groups. It's Annabeth, this kid named Charlie, Will, Luke and me. Athena dismisses us and I walk out with Annabeth right behind me.

" Percy, its going to be fine. It's barely a mission anyway. I mean unless you blow our cover and screw something up then that might be a problem but other then that there isn't going to be any combat. At least I hope not." Annabeth says as she catches up to me.

" How can you be sure?"

" I have done this many times. Trust me." She smirks and lightly shoves my shoulder as she walks away.

Two hours later the five of us are running quietly through the forest. We are on the edge of town, a couple of miles away from my home. I would do anything to see my mom again just to make sure she is okay. But unless we somehow get over there I know I can't. Luke scans the perimeter and turns to us.

" Ok on my count everyone sprints to that hut over there and hide behind it. No one moves unless it's on my command."

I nod and look around. Something catches my eye. There is thick black smoke coming from there forest. It's right around where I use to...

" Mom." I freeze with fear and blurt out.

Annabeth looks confused and whispers, " What?"

I don't pay attention and I let my instincts take over. I stand up and start running as fast as I can towards the smoke. Luke shouts, " Jackson! Get back here!"

But I don't care. I don't care about the mission or the prophecy or that I might be caught. I only care about my mom. As I run, I dodge some fallen trees and jump over the little stream. I am so close.

I jump out of the forest and my stomach drops. I was right my mom is in trouble. The house is in flames and I see some of Ares guards outside surrounding my burning home.

Some of them spot me and I run towards them head on. I slash and cut some skin. I duck and bang the butt of my sword on someone's head. In no time they are all knocked out or rolling on the ground in pain. But I don't stop there.

I focus and think back to the river and my training. I listen to the current and call to it. There is a tug in my gut and in a sort minute, a large pool of water is suspended in the air. I throw my hands towards the hut and the fire is put out. I run to the crappy door I had to built when I was 16 and break it down. I look around and I don't see my mother.

" Mom!" I call out.

A deep voice comes from behind me and suddenly my mom and Ares come into view.

" Hello again Percy jackson." Ares snickers as he has my mom around her shoulders and holds a knife to her neck. She looks so scared and she is sweating and shaking .

I clench my jaw and say through my teeth," Let. Her. Go."

He laughs and digs the knife deeper into my mom's neck and I step towards him.

" Not so fast Jackson. Tell me what I want to know."

"Well I can't tell you unless you ask me the questions." I snap back.

"Where is you're base?"

" You have to be delusional if you think I will rat out on my friends. Let my mom go. She has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me."

He smirks and says," Well I guess I just have find that information out from my mole. Oh I forgot to clarify that, by the way you have a mole in you're little group. He has been working for me for the last 2 years. That's why none of you're missions ever work out and you worthless demigods fail and die. Well, I will see you very soon Jackson. Oh and Sally dear, " he holds my mother closer to his disgusting face and says, " I will make sure to tell him you say hi."

Ares shoves my mother away and winks at me before walking out. I run to my mother and I pick her up off the floor. She looks sickly and I don't know why. Her body is shaking and her face is pale and sweaty. I support her by the waist as I stand up but she sways and falls on the floor again.

" Mom!" I kneel down and hold her up in my arms. " Mom what-what happened? What's wrong?"

She swallows hard and says with a shaky breath," Ares came and he-he told me that he knew you and some of you're friends were coming because of the mole. He- he wanted to get his revenge on you for making a fool of him and to punish me for my crimes in harboring a demigod. He told me I would have been punished earlier but he wanted to make sure that you were who you were. He wanted to see if you would join him but once he figured out your loyalties he decided to make sure you know who you are messing with. He wanted to see you in pain. I am sorry Percy."

She touches to her side and she winces as she pulls her hand away. It's covered it blood. I look down at where she touched and see the wound. Her whole side is covered almost dripping with blood. My hands starts to shake as I gently touch it. How could I not have notice it before. That asshole stabbed her before setting the house on fire. She was going to die whether or not I came and stopped him. Ares knew exactly where I was and how far I was with the group. He knew everything and planned her death in advance. My mom was dying and I couldn't do anything about it.

I look back up at her face and my eyes start to water with tears. She smiles at me and gently presses her hand to my cheek. I lean into it and I say with a quiet and shaky voice.

" Mom I-I am so so sorry. It's all my fault."

She calms me down with her gentle voice and rubs my arm weakly in comfort.,

" Sshh no its not Percy. I made my choice when I met you're father. I knew it was a law punishable by death but I fell in love anyway. I don't regret any of it. I would do it all over again if I knew I would be blessed with a son like you. Don't beat yourself up over this, its not you're fault. Not at all. Percy, you're going to do amazing things and I kn-know that you are going to save the world. I know you will."

Her eyes start to get heavy and I hold her closer.

" No, please Mom, stay with me. Please Mom." I try to keep my composure but I can't. I start to cry and my body shakes.

She smiles at me and says" I love you Percy."

My mom strokes my cheek one more time and I hold it there with my hand. She takes a shallow, weak breath and closes her eyes.

She is gone.

I sob and I pull her up to my chest and cry hard into her shoulder. I am shaking and the tears come faster until I can't see anything anymore. I can't breath because the sobs make my breath hitch. When I regain my voice, I scream and bury my head into my mom's cold body.

She is gone and I can never see her again. The only person I loved, my only family. She is dead and never coming back.

I am

alone.

The world suddenly feels a lot darker and empty. My mom is dead. My mom is...dead. She died because of me. I look down at her lifeless body and I want to cry again but I can't cry anymore. My tears are dried up and my body is shaking as I hold her tightly. Outside I hear a familiar voice call out.

" Percy!"

It's Annabeth. I don't call out because I don't think I can. I screamed so much I don't know if anything will come out. But Annabeth bursts through the open door frame and covers her mouth in shock. She looks at me in pure horror and slowly comes over to my side and says, " Percy I am so sorry. "

She places a hand on my shoulder and I don't look at her. I just keep looking at my dead mother. Her eyes are still open because I don't want to close them because a delusional part of me thinks that she will wake up. But she won't

Annabeth asks," What happened?"

After a long moment of silence, I respond in a raspy, low voice.

" Ares killed her. He knew that I was coming to town for that mission and he set fire to my house knowing I would see it. But he stabbed my mom before I even got here. I put out the fire and he was in the house with my mom. Once he left I thought everything was ok but she...collapsed. She was s-so pale and there was blood everywhere." I stop to look at my hands which are covered in blood and continue, " She died in my arms."

"Percy, you're mom was a very brave woman. Remember that and all of the good memories you had with each other. She is in a better place now and I know it seems wrong that she isn't here but she is somewhere better."

I stare at the ground and I clench my jaw in rage as my voice rises, " I am going to KILL Ares. I don't know how but I will. He is going to pay for this."

Annabeth stares at me and tries to calm me down," We can figure something out later but right now we should worry about your mom. She deserves a proper burial. "

I nod and pick up my mother's body as I stand up. She looks so peaceful and I can't stop thinking about how it is my fault she is dead. It's my fault. My fault.

Annabeth and I go outside and I remember my mom had a favorite tree that she would sit under sometimes. I walk over to it and gently lay her down on the dying grass and go to get a shovel. Annabeth comes out of the hut with a blanket from what could be salvaged from the fire. After a few minutes, I finished digging and Annabeth gently wraps my mother's body in the blanket. I look at her wrapped up body and I pick the body up. I close my eyes and gently kiss her head before placing my mom carefully in the grave. I look at her one last time before grabbing the shovel and starting to throw dirt over the body.

"Percy, don't you want to say anything?"Annabeth asks worriedly.

"No. There is nothing to say. She is dead and she can't say anything back so what's point Annabeth." I say angrily and keep throwing more dirt on the grave.

After the dirt closes up the grave and I pound the dirt down into a mound, Annabeth comes to my side with some flowers. I never saw any around my hut before, so I wanted to know where she got them from but I didn't really care. I don't care about anything anymore. Annabeth kneels down and places the flowers at the top of the dirt mound and whispers.

"I wish I could have known you Ms. Jackson. Don't worry I will take care of Percy."

She comes back to my side and we just stand there in silence. I stare emotionless at the grave because it doesn't feel real that I just buried my mother. But it is real she is dead because of me. It's my fault.

After a while we leave the grave in silence. As we walk by, the partially burnt house catches my eye and I walk up it.

"Percy?" Annabeth says confused but I don't care nor do I really hear her.

This was my home but it's not anymore. This is a place were my mother was murdered. This is not a home anymore and all it is now is a constant reminder of the life I once had and the pain that comes with it. I have no home and the memories of this hut are too much for me to bare. I go inside and find a match that Ares accidentally left right next to the blood stained floor. I clench my jaw as I think of how afraid my mother must have felt and how there was no one to help her. I should have been there. I could have gotten here sooner. I should have never left home.

It's my fault. I grab the match and go outside. I light it up and Annabeth speaks up.

" Percy what are you doing?"

" I should have been here Annabeth. I should have never left her."

"Percy I know you are feeling guilty but what are you doing with that match." She asks cautiously as she comes closer to me.

" I am getting rid of the all pain. SHE WAS MURDERED HERE!" I scream as tears start to water in my eyes again.

"I know. I know Percy. " She tries to calm me down and she puts her hands up as she walks closer. "But this is where you grew up! Don't you want this to be here so you can remember all of the good times?"

"What good memories Annabeth! How can I look at those good times without being constantly reminded that she died in there! Her blood is stained on the floor! Ho-How can I ever come my here! There are too many painful memories here and I-I can't handle them." I throw the match onto the hut and once again it catches on fire.

" Percy, no! This is you're home! It will always be your home. "

" It's not my home anymore." I answer angrily and watch the hut start to burn.

I stare at my hut engulfed in flames and I think of all the memories I had in it. Sure it was small, but it was good enough for my mom and I. It was a home, a good one. And now it's not. It's a constant reminder of how I failed my mom.I silently walk away and Annabeth follows me.

" Percy-"

I cut her off and with my raspy, angry voice and I say, " I don't want to talk about it Annabeth. Just drop it."

I walk ahead of her and we walk to the base in silence. When we get there, the trunk opens and I go down it without looking at Annabeth's worried face. But when I land and roll on to my feet, Luke is right there to get in my face.

" What the hell Jackson! You blew our entire mission!"

I glare back at him. His face is all red and I answer back with as much anger as he has.

" Shut. Up."

Everyone around me stops talking and the room becomes silent, waiting on the impending fight between Luke and I. Annabeth finally comes down the trunk and she comes over and tries to get in between us. Luke now is even angrier and says, " What was that?"

" You heard me. " I push past him, knocking him off balance and I walk away. I dsay over my shoulder, "There is a traitor in the Resistance too. Might want to check into that."

I don't wait for their reactions and I just walk towards my room. I walk in and slam the door. I stand there for a moment and my hands start to shake as I remember what just happened. My mom is dead...dead dead dead. I bring my hands up to where I can see them and I see my mother's blood stained on my palms once again. I panic and start to breath faster and I go to my sink. I grab the soap as I try to get it off, scrubbing faster and harder the water turning pink. I look down at my shirt and see that its covered in blood. Grabbing the hem of it, I throw it off my head and throw it across the room. When I finish I grab a towel and look up at the mirror. In the mirror I see my face for the first time in awhile. My face is cover with soot and blood. I have a trail of dried tears streaking down my face. I am sure when everyone saw me I looked pathetic and awful. But I don't care. I quickly scrub my face in anger and pace my room.

I finally go over to my bed and lay down looking at the ceiling. I feel empty. But I am so tired that I fall asleep even though it is barely dark outside. My dreams are interrupted with my usual nightmares but tonight's is awful. I see my mother's death all over again. Over and over. I wake with with a start and sit up. I am sweaty and I am gasping for air and I feel like I am choking. When I regain my composure I think over everything again. It's my fault. Its all my fault. I pound the wall next to my bed in anger and I scream in frustration and utter pain. Tears come streaming down my face as a constant though runs through my mind. My fault my fault my fault. I feel like there are voices in my head that keep reminding me of my guilt.

I can't take the pain anymore so I get up, grab another t-shirt and make my way to my usual place. I climb up the ladder and emerge on the big tree branch hoping that I can have some peace like I usually do when I come here. To my surprise, Annabeth is sitting in her usual spot.

" I knew you would probably be here tongiht. I thought you could use a friend. "

I got over and sit down next to her as quietly say," Thanks but I am fine."

She looks at me for a moment and says, " Don't do that. Don't put on a brave face for me, Percy. You're mom just died. You are not fine."

She was right. I am not fine and the guilt is eating me alive.

" You're right. I am not ok. It's all my fault Annabeth. If it wasn't for me she would still be alive."

Then Annabeth did something really surprising. She grabs my hand and held it with hers. She looks at me with her grey eyes and says," Percy look at me. None of this is you're fault. You're mom loved you so much and she would hate it if you beat yourself up like this. Our parents died for us because they knew we were going to do something great. They knew we were going to change the world. Their sacrifice is going to be worth it. Trust me."

And I do trust her. Out of everyone in the Resistance, I trust her the most.

" You're right Annabeth. Thanks."

She smiles and squeezes my hand gently. I thought one of us would let go but we don't. I don't want to. It feels nice to have the pain of what happened today go away with the comfort of Annabeth.

We sat there on our tree branch holding hands and watching the sun come up. And for that moment I found peace amongst the pain.


	6. The Mission

**The Mission:**

**Percy**

The morning after my mom's death was hard to put it mildly.I woke up and it all felt like a dream. But then all of the memories came flooding back and I relived everything. The pain, seeing her die in my arms, burning our house. Everything came back. I couldn't move and I couldn't stop crying. No one came to bang on my door, which was probably a good thing or it might have been awkward. I knew I had to get up and start the day. I had to get up and stop crying. I had to move on.

3 weeks later

The last 3 weeks have been hard but not as unbearable as the first day after my mom's death. People say that after a while the grief and pain will fade away but that's not true, it never goes away. You just learn how to live with it. I still had horrible nightmares but I was so use to not getting sleep that it didn't really phase me. I threw myself into my training becoming stronger and better then I ever have been. People were starting to not treat me as the newbie but as a fellow member of the Resistance, which made me feel a lot better. Annabeth and I got closer and I told her everything. She was my biggest support system and helped me to keep moving on. Athena and Luke eventually got over the failed mission. Nobody has really talked about the traitor, but Annabeth and I have been investigating who it could be and nothing has been clear.

But today we are going back to the failed mission and trying it again.

Everyone is getting on their suits and putting together their weapons as I just sit around looking like a slacker. I don't really have that much besides Riptide, so I quietly wait for my orders from Luke. Luke comes up with all his armor and says.

" Alright guys listen up. We don't have any mistakes like last time-. "

Everyone looks at me and I honestly want to punch them all because last time that "mistake" was going and being with my mom as she died but Luke continues before I can.

" The mission is to get confirmation on the whereabouts of Kronos's hideout. Annabeth has constructed a map on the information that she has gotten on her past quests. If we can get this vital information from Ares then we will know where we need to start looking. We will enter behind the estate and work our way up. We have reason to believe that the map is in his office. Do your best not to get discovered or this mission will get a lot more difficult. Alright move out!"

We all get our weapons and run to the entrance of the base and exit. and make our way through the forest. Slowly, we snake around Ares's guards in the town square and we are on the outside of Ares estate. Annabeth and Luke are up in front holding hands as we sit behind the wall waiting for Luke's orders. They look happy, a lot happier then I have seen them in a while. After a couple of minutes, Luke turns towards us and says.

"Go."

We jump the fence and book it across the yard. When we all get to the door, I look around making sure my team is in their positions. I lead a group of kids while Luke leads the other group. Luke nods at me and my team goes left and his team goes right from the back door. We turn the corner and see a guard. We all hide in the corner and wait for him to walk down towards us. When he walks down, I pop out of the wall and I hit him in the neck, knocking him out. Some members of my team drags his body behind us and I check to see if the coast is clear. I motion to the rest of my team and we go up stairs. The hallway is clear and we continue down the hall. My team kicks down the doors finding nothing. I kick down one door and I see the map.

" It's in here!"

My team and I go in and I close the door. I turn towards the map and try moving but then I feel something cold against my neck and I freeze. A voice says.

" Good job Luke. You led them right to us."

I look around and see a group of kids. They are holding my team and Luke's team hostage. Everyone is under knife point except Luke. Annabeth looks like she wants to kill someone. I look at Luke who has his weapon drawn at us and say.

" So you were the traitor. H-"

Annabeth interrupts me and screams, " HOW COULD YOU! "

She struggles against a pretty girl who can't seem to hold onto Annabeth. Eventually, Annabeth elbows the girl hard in the nose to break free and slaps Luke.

" I trusted you. I LOVED you! And you do this! Working for Kronos and his team of demigods! You know what they do Luke!"

Luke doesn't say anything for a while and then says," I was doing this for us. We can't win against Kronos and we would live if we just joined him. Don't you see Annabeth. I still love you." He reaches for her but she slaps away his hand and looks at him with hate.

"I don't know what world you live in where you think I can love someone who helps murders and Kronos himself. You know what he has done Luke! They helped kill your mother-."

"DON'T bring her into this Annabeth! I made my own choice and so must you. You can join me and we can be together like we have talked about. Baby please." He tries to touch her arm but she backs away angrily.

" I am NOT your baby. Don't. You. . Me. " Her voice cracks as she says, " I hat-hate you."

She looks away from Luke. A girl who is beefy, but like the strong beefy I guess, gives a pretty girl my friend Charlie to hold and she says, " Here Silena take this one." They switch off and the girl comes up to Annabeth and says.

" Alright princess let's go!" She grabs Annabeth by the arm hard and Annabeth struggles against her grip.

"Get the hell off me bitch!"

The girl punches her hard in the face and Annabeth's nose starts to bleed. I try to move towards her but the person holding me back punches me in the gut to hold me back. I groan and double over in pain and finally Luke yells.

" Enough. Take them away Clarisse."

She smirks and says," My pleasure. "

They take us away and puts us into a huge armor truck. We all look at each other and the feeling of failure is thick in the air. We failed once again and now we don't know what's going to happen now that Luke will probably spill all of us secrets. Annabeth is sitting next to me and she is very quiet. Her nose is better but her face is still swollen. I look at her and ask, " Are you ok?"

She looks emotionless and says," I am fine. " Then she turns to the others she says," I alerted my mother so don't worry about the base. She changed locations and once we figured out how to escape, she will send us a message on where the new base is."

I look at her and say, " How can they change base so quickly?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes and says," My mom is a goddess, Percy."

Well I officially feel dumb.

" Oh right. Sorry."

The others nod and we all go silent. We don't know where we are going or what will happen but at least we know that we are all together and we can trust one each other. At least I am here with Annabeth and we can support another. She is still helping me come to grips with my mom's death and now I will help her get through Luke's betrayal. We are all a team here but she is now my family.


	7. Fire

**Fire:**

**Percy**

After a while of driving with the truck hitting big bumps that sends everyone flying, we finally stop.

" Bag them."

They come over and put black,thick bags on our heads. There isn't anything we can do to stop them because we are handcuffed so we all put up with being treated like animals. It's nothing new for me, after years of living under Ares this kind of treatment doesn't phase me. They forcefully they stand us up and walk us outside, I can't see anything but I can feel the cold air against my body. It's freezing. I hear a click and a creak and I suddenly feel warm again so I assume we must be inside. Suddenly, the bag is ripped off my face and I see that I am in a cell. I look around and my team is all here...except Annabeth.

I panic. My heart is racing with all of the horrible things that might have happened to her. I turn to Charlie and ask.

" Charlie, where is Annabeth?"

" Percy, she was taken to a room to be interrogated. It's not going to be good."

" What do you mean it's not going to be good! They aren't going to kill her are they!" I yell.

Charlie shakes his head and says," No. She is too important for that. But they want to know about the map and knowing Annabeth... she isn't going to tell them anything."

I nod and sit down against the wall. He is right. If I have learned anything about Annabeth is that she doesn't give in to anyone. The wall is cold but it feels nice against my back. My eyes get heavy and I doze off. My nightmares come but I am too tired to care.

A couple of hours later I am woken up to a conversation between Charlie and some girl. I keep my eyes close but listen in.

" So if you're mom is the goddess of love why did she go with Kronos?"

The girl pauses and then sighs," Probably because she was too scared. I mean do you think my mom could survive in Tartarus. But I am not really sure what her role is with Kronos. Most of the gods have an assignment but I don't know what is her assignment. All I know is that my siblings and I hate Kronos just as much as you do. But we haven't had the chance to escape. We can't."

" Come with us. We are going to break out and when we do you can come and fight with us."

" I-I can't leave my-"

" Silena. If you help us out I promise we will protect you guys and you can come to base."

" Oh gods Charlie I just met you. Why are you so nice to me?"

"Because I know you didn't chose this. Everyone needs a second chance."

I peek one eye open and I see them holding hands. Its the girl from earlier. She is on the outside of the cell and he is in here. She nods and says," Alright I will do it. Anything to help you Charlie. "

I wake up but they don't notice, everyone is either asleep or talking. I turn to look at my side and Annabeth is still not back yet. I am really worried now. How long has it been?

But my prayers must have been answered because Silena slaps Charlie and says," Stop that prisoner."

He rubs his face but knows why she did it. Coming down the hall is Clarisse and another guy holding up a girl with curly blonde hair. Annabeth.

They open the cell and throw her in. She hisses in pain when she lands on the ground and rolls to her side. I come over and ask worriedly.

" Oh gods, Annabeth! Are you ok?"

" Do I LOOK ok Seaweed Brain!" She yells as she tries to sit up. I help her out and pick her up. I help her sit against the wall and finally get a good look at her injuries. Her eye is purple, swollen and so is her lip. Her nose looks bent and there is blood all over her face.

"Well no but for someone who just got beaten up, I say you still look pretty good."

" Shut up. Just shut-." She winces in pain and holds her side. I come over to her and gently touch her hand.

" Let me look."

She silently nods and I lift up her shirt. I touch her bare skin and I feel her warmth. My face feels warm and I try to focus on the task. I feel her side and something is sticking out. She definitely has a broken rib. I look up at her and gently pull down her shirt.

" Got a nasty bruise and a broken rib. But other then that you look good."

I go to sit next to her and she nods sleepily," Awesome."

I look around for something to clean her face up with. I see a bucket of water, a ripped up shirt and a piece of bread. All we have is bread and some water and that's all that Clarisse gave us to survive, but I don't think anyone would object if I use it to help Annabeth out.

I go over and I dunk the shirt in and squeeze some water out. Carefully, I put it to Annabeth's face as I clean up the blood. We look at each other, silently exchanging thank you and no problem. I can't help to get lost in her grey eyes. I gently rub the blood off her cheeks and it is silent and inimate. She looks at me and her eyes are searching for something but I can't tell what it is. She suddenly winces and I go to pull back my hand but she stops me and instead holds my hand against her cheek while she closes her eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" I ask worriedly.

"No..you could never hurt me." She opens her eyes and our eyes lock. I have never felt this...fire in my gut. It burns so bright whenever I see her and my whole body feels warm when she is around. She looks so broken and upset and I can't stand it anymore. We need to get her out of here.

" We need to get out. They are going to keep beating you until you're dead because we all know you aren't going to tell them anything."

"You don't need to worry about me. I can handle myself." she says determined and a bit delusional.

"Well you did a good job with that Annabeth." And now I am angry. I can't do anything about Luke beating her up and I can't do anything to help her or to try to persuade her to just tell them something. I don't want to see her keep getting beaten up like this.

"I have a plan alright. And besides I think I have a plan."

I sight and put away the cleaning materials. I grab the piece of bread and it to Annabeth. She refuses and I don't give her a chance to argue. I get up and pace in front of her.

"Fine. I trust you just don't get yourself killed. I couldn't handle that Annabeth. What's your plan?"

Annabeth is eyeing Charlie and Silena and says,"I think we can figure out something." She nods over to Charlie and Silena talking and I nod. She then continues and looks straight at me, "And I can handle it. I was trained to endure pain."

I sigh and sit down next to her and she rests her head on my shoulder. Alarms are going off in my head but I don't protest her touch. The fire burns once again and my whole body is burning. I carefully wrap my arm around her shoulder and she sighs and holds me closer to her. In a couple of minutes she is fast asleep. She needs me just as much as I needed her three weeks ago. I look down at her and I can't help but see how beautiful she is, even with her bruises and swelling. I don't know why I am feeling so out of breath whenever I see her or all of my nerves are on high alert whenever she is around me, when she touches me. Maybe I am going crazy. But even if I am a little bit crazy,know that somehow that I am falling for Annabeth.


	8. Escape

**Escape:**

**Percy**

A couple of weeks later, my team and I are still stuck in our cell at Luke's prison. Everyday they take Annabeth for questioning and everyday she comes back bruised and beaten. We have all lost a lot of weight do to the lack of food that Luke and his traitors give us. But even though it sucks and I want to kill Luke for hurting Annabeth, it helps us out in a way. When she is gone, Silena guards us and together we have developed an escape plan. We all will get to escape and our freedom back. Charlie and Silena have gotten really close and if anyone asked me I would say they have a thing or something. Something must have happened because they always whisper to each other and pretend we all can't see them but we can.

That night, I hear the jail door creak open and Annabeth is tossed in once again. By now she isn't fazed by the beatings. I open my eyes and slowly crawl over to her shaking body. I wrap my arms around her and she curls up into my shoulder and cries. Something about this is wrong. The last couple of days she has been silent. But this isn't good.

" Annabeth? What's wrong?" I ask and I smooth circles across her back and she cries into my chest.

When she stops crying she finally says," It's Luke. He is going to be Kronos's body. He told me Kronos's old body is dying and he must change to a stronger body. And Luke offered. That… that bastard! He is giving up his body for that-that monster!"

I understand why she is so upset but she has to realize that the Luke she once loved is completely gone. I look down and slowly pull her face to look at me.

"Annabeth look at me. There isn't much we can do for Luke. He made his choice but at least we know Kronos is weak and maybe now we might have some way to beat Kronos."

She shakes her head and says, " You don't get it Percy. Sure he betrayed us and has been beating me up for the last couple of days but I know he still has good somewhere. I don't know how he got to this point but I know he can be saved. If Kronos takes his body, then there will be no hope him." She sighs and continues, ". I don't know why I still care for him. I don't know if I will ever get over him. "

Now I am silent. I have nothing but hatred for this guy. Besides the fact that he helped killed my mom, he beats up Annabeth and probably could give two shits. And he still has the heart of the girl that I have fallen for.

" Percy?"

I look down and she is looking at me. Her face is swollen but somehow she is still beautiful. I answer, " Yes?"

"Have you ever loved someone?"

Was I that obvious? I hope to gods I wasn't. I lie and say, " Besides my mom nope."

She is surprised but I see a tiny smile. She replies, " Oh. Sorry I just thought you would have."

"Nope. There wasn't really anytime to date in my village."

She nods and then asks, "How…how are you doing?"

I know what she is asking and this time I answer honestly, "I'm…I'm ok. I have my good days and I have my bad days. I miss her though. A lot."

I look away for a moment because it's been a while since I have talked about my mom and it still hurts. It hurts everyday but sometimes it's more pronounced then other. A warm hand pulls me to look at Annabeth and she looks at me with concern.

"You don't have to hide from me Percy."

I choke back some tears and nod before she snuggles closer into my chest and I hold her tighter because this time she is comforting me.

"Has it gotten easier? Getting over it? I mean I lost my dad when I was pretty young and I don't really remember everything."

"I don't think you ever get over it. I just think sometimes you just learn to deal with that pain and learn how to numb it."

She nods and says, "I hope that's true."

Now I know what she is talking about and I want to tell her that she will get over Luke someday, but before I can reply Charlie comes over and says, " It's time. We are breaking out tonight."

I nod and motion to everyone to get up. We all move to the cell door where Silena has the keys and opens the door, and we all get out quietly and follow Silena down the hall. Some of the members of the team are weary of Silena but if Charlie trusts her then I will too. She leads us silently through some corridors while we dodge some guards and eventually, we get to the exit doors. Silena is up front with Charlie who holds her free hand.

"I knew it." I whisper and Annabeth asks.

"Knew what?"

"They do have a thing!"

Annabeth hits my arm hard and I want to yell at her but before I can, the alarms goes off and someone from the back yells.

" FREEZE!"

I turn around and see Clarisse holding a gun. She is fuming and out of the corner of my eye, I see Silena still about to open the door with her key. I know I have to make a distraction. I look at the water pipes above me and Clarisse says, "Don't even think about it water boy."

I ready my body and feel the tug before responding," Think about what?" I smirk and force the pipes to burst and they explode over Clarisse.

She screams as Silena opens the door and we all run out to the darkness. I am holding Annabeth's hand as we make a beeline to the forest up ahead. Everyone is running when suddenly I hear a blood-curdling scream. I push Annabeth ahead of me into the dark forest and I turn around to see who it is. Behind me, Silena is on the ground holding her ankle. She is crying and her ankle is completely bent out of shape. She looks up at me and screams.

"GO!"

I move towards her but Charlie stops me. He looks at me and says," Get everyone to safety. Silena and I will see you at the base. Go."

I refuse and say, " You can't carry her on your own. Let me help you Charlie."

Charlie looks back and we see the guards coming out. I recognize Luke and then I know that Charlie knows he wouldn't be getting to base. He was going to stay with here and save Silena. Or die trying.

"Percy, go. You have a greater duty to do. You have to change the world. They are all counting on you. " He motions to my team who is behind me out of sight in the woods. I look at him and know that this will be the last time. I have to say goodbye.

I shake his hand and my throat feels it's closing as I choke back and say, " Goodbye Charlie. "

He nods and answers back, " Take care Percy. "

He releases my hand and runs towards Silena. I go into the forest and motion everyone to keep moving. Someone gasps loudly and we all turn around. Outside the forest, Charlie is kneeling by Silena. He is trying to help her up but Luke is coming towards them with a gun. Charlie is desperately trying to get Silena off the ground but suddenly he falls back. I don't comprehend what happened until I see Luke with his gun pointed and Siena's screams. I look to Charlie's lifeless body and start to move towards him when someone holds me back. Annabeth is holding me back and she knows I can't help him now. He is dead.

Luke then points his gun to Siena's head and she turns up her chin bravely. I have never seen such bravery and courage before. She looks right into Luke's eyes and says, "I don't fear you."

He smirks and pulls the trigger and Silena falls next to Charlie's dead body.

My team and I are too shocked to notice Luke shouting out for us. It isn't until Annabeth shakes my arm that I am knocked out of the shock. We turn and start running into the cold, dark night.

We have been on the run for days when we finally stop. Everyone is panting and exhausted while some are crying for Charlie. Annabeth is holding her hands behind her head trying to catch her breath, when suddenly an owl sweeps down and drops a piece of paper on the forest ground in front of her. She breathes heavily as she kneels down and looks at everyone.

"It's a map from my mother about the new base. It looks like it isn't too far away so we should keep walking."

I sigh out of relief and everyone continues on. After an hour or so we finally make it back to the only thing I can call a home. Everyone greets us and Athena asks us what happened. Annabeth debriefs her on everything and Athena then dismisses us and we all go to our rooms for some rest. I fall right to sleep but my dreams are plagued with Charlie's and Silena's deaths that I don't sleep that much.

A couple of weeks have gone by and everyone is still healing from our imprisonment and Charlie's death. I deal with his death and my mom's through my training. Annabeth usually joins me, but lately she has been really distant. I don't really know what it is but I feel like if I work up enough courage I might ask her.

Apparently today was that day. Annabeth and I were training when I nonchalantly asked," So what has been with you lately?"

She stops slicing up a dummy and says angrily," What do you, mean what has been up with me?"

I stop slicing my dummies too and say, " Well I don't know you just have been really distant lately. I am just worried about you."

She slams down her sword and answers back," You know what Percy how about you worry about your damn self for once alright!"

"Well I am your friend Annabeth! You don't need to bite my head off."

She sighs angrily and yells, " You are my friend Percy but you are not my freaking boyfriend so stop acting like you are! Just stop being on my case and acting like I am some fragile girl! You want to know why I am so distant? Oh I don't know maybe it's because I got the shit beaten out of me by my ex boyfriend. Or maybe it's because I lost one of my best friends at the hands of your stupid escape plan!"

Her words cut deep but I couldn't let her know that. I couldn't let her have that satisfaction. I scream back, "What! You're blaming me for Charlie's death! Seriously!"

She comes up right in my face and says, " Yes I am blaming you. None of this would have happened if you never showed up! It's your fault we got caught, I got beaten and Charlie got killed. Just like how your mother's death was your fault too!" She covers her mouth as soon as she says it the damage is already done.

I have been really good lately about keeping my emotions in check and I haven't been too upset lately but this crosses the line. She knows about the unbearable guilt I have about my mother's death.

I glare at her and say back in shaky tone. "Don't. Talk. About. My. MOTHER. " I turn away from her and storm out of training room. As I walk down the hall, some of the pipes burst because I am just so angry that I can't even control my powers. Annabeth runs after me and yells at me.

" Percy, wait! I am sorry!"

"Save it! Go back to Luke I am sure he would love to lay another punch to your face!" I scream behind me and I hear her feet stop in their place. I storm down the hall and Athena stops me. She is the last person I want to see right now.

" Jackson, I want you to take a team to Ares's house again. You may take a chariot because of the distance. But I want to get that map. In light of the new information, I have reason to believe we can find a weakness in this new host and we need to find Kronos's hideout in order to accomplish it. Can I trust you to lead this mission and succeed?"

I nod and say as confidently as I can, " Sure thing."

I walk away and round everyone up, except Annabeth. No way in hell she is coming anywhere near me.

My team and I are once again outside Ares's house. Now with Annabeth's words and our failed mission last time, I want nothing more then to beat Ares to a pulp. I sent another team in ahead to scout out the mansion incase Luke decided to show up. They are supposed to go to the window and give us a sign. I wait for the signal anxiously. Eventually I see the flashlight and turn to my team.

"Let's go."

By now I have this mansion memorized and I take the route that I took last time. I know exactly where the map is so if Ares isn't here then this mission is a breeze. But like everything in my life these days, everything has to be complicated.

I kick down the door to Ares's office and he is sitting down in his chair at the desk. He looks a little intoxicated because he has this stupid grin on his face when he says.

" Jackson! I have missed you. Came for the map?

He stands up shakily and walks over to the map and takes it down. He gives it to me and says, " Here ya go!"

I grab for it but jump back as a sharp pain comes from my thigh. He stabbed me. That little drunk asshole stabbed me! I hold my thigh as blood trickles down my pants.

Ares laughs and says," Oh gods are you actually that stupid! What do you think I would just hand it over to you!"

I have had enough of him. I am going to kill a god today. I don't know how but I will. Ok or at least seriously injury a god.

I grab Riptide and slash hard at his side, causing gold blood to ooze out. I keep slicing and stabbing at Ares. The only thing that is to my advantage is that he is drunk. His movements are lazily and off so I keep up with my speed and keep slicing at him. Gold blood is all over the floor and on me and eventually Ares is on the ground bleeding out. Finally I can get revenge for my mother. I can prove myself to Annabeth and everyone else who has doubted me. I can kill him. And I will kill him.

I raise my sword and start to swing down to stab him but someone yells behind me.

" Percy stop!"

I turn around and Annabeth is standing behind me with a worried expression. I get off the ground and say angrily, " What the hell are you doing here. This is MY mission."

" I know, but you can't do this Percy. You wouldn't be doing any good by killing, well you wouldn't be killing him but you get my point. This isn't you Percy. And it won't make you feel better. You are not a violent and vengeful person. Just get the map and let's go. "

I stand up and kick Ares hard in the face with the heel of my foot, which knocks him out. I grab the map and I limp out of the office. My thigh hurts but I can just get some ambrosia and that will fix it up in no time. My team is waiting outside the office and they follow me outside. Annabeth is not far behind and she says, " Percy, can we talk?"

I am still walking ahead as I say, " What's there to talk about Annabeth. You have already said what you think. I will stop coddling you.

She grabs my arm and I spin around to glare at her. She looks so upset and her grey eyes are wet. Even though I am so pissed off at her it still hurts me to see her upset.

" Percy, please. I am so sorry about what I said. It's not your fault. You deserve to be in the Resistance. Please I am sorry I was just upset."

"Is that all you have to say?"

She looks down at my leg and sees my bleeding thigh and says, " Percy, you are hurt."

Why the hell does she care if I am hurt or not. She made it pretty clear that she doesn't want me to treat her like she is my girlfriend. So why is she so hung up about my integrity or my injuries.

I glare at her and say with venom in my words, " Why do you care so much about what I do. I am not your boyfriend. Stop acting like you care about me, Annabeth."

She looks like I just slapped her. I don't really care if those words hurt her. Her words hurt me just as bad so she deserves it. I walk away and my team gets on the chariot, leaving Annabeth alone.

That night I am in my cabin when I hear some commotion outside. I sit up and get out of bed. I would grab my shirt and limb carefully to the door because my leg is just really sore from Ares wound. I open the door and I am surprise to see Katie from Demeter outside my door.

" Katie, what's going on?"

She looks upset as she says, " It's Annabeth. She is missing."


	9. If It's The Last Thing I Do

If it's the Last Thing I do:

Percy

My body feels like it has been empty for the last week. Annabeth is gone and it's all my fault. I was mad at her and I left her on Ares's mansion alone. I should have gone back or told her to get on with me. I said a lot of things I wish I could take back and it seemed like I didn't care about her but I do care about Annabeth. I love her. There I said it. I love her and now because of me I might never be able to tell her how I feel. I have to find her even if it's impossible or dangerous or whatever else that might stand in my way. Nothing can stop me, I have to find her.

She has been missing for about a week and everyone is on high alert. Athena is a lot more irritable and she won't even look at me when she sees me because she knows as well as I do that is this my fault. But it doesn't make it any easier but so far we have established that Luke took her. That's all we have and I am going insane trying to find out more, to find any piece of evidence that I can find to get her back.

I stare up at my ceiling with my mind racing and I am once again unable to sleep. I decide to take matters into my own hands. I got her into this mess and I am going to find her and get her out of it. I get out of bed, get dressed and grab Riptide. Opening the door carefully, I slowly sneak down the hallway and towards the exit out of base.

"Jackson."

I freeze and mentally curse at myself. I turn toward the voice behind me and see Athena staring at me with the same cold grey eyes as Annabeth. I look at her and as I try to defend myself, Athena interrupts me and says, " Save it. I know where you're going. I know you have feelings for my daughter. Don't try to deny it. And although I appreciate you striking out and trying to find her, I do want you to know this. You and my daughter will NEVER be together. Understand?"

Well geez way to make a guy feel good Athena. "Um yay. Don't worry I will bring her back." I reply.

"I hope you are right Jackson. Now go there isn't much time."

I nod and quickly run out and set out to find the girl that I fully and utterly love.

It's been a good day now and I have been trudging through the forest in the freezing rain. My shoes and pants are all muddy and wet but I don't care. I am slowly making my way back to the prison that I have escaped from a couple of months ago. It's the only place I know where I can find some information on where Luke is. Suddenly, I spot the black compound and I pull out Riptide and make my way across the familiar lawn where Charlie died. My mind flashes back to that awful night but I push it back because I need to focus. I run until I find the outer wall of the compound and with my heart racing, I kick down the door. The halls are empty and I continue to make my way through the compound but from the looks of it this place, has been abandoned for a while.

Suddenly a strong arm wraps around my neck and begins to choke me. I gasp for air as I try to elbow the body away but I have no luck. I throw Riptide down and stab my attackers foot. It goes straight through his foot and attaches it to the floor. The attacker howls and lets go. I gasp for air as I turn toward the person who is wailing on the floor. It is a teenager with black hair and brown eyes. He looks older then me but I can care less. He must know something about where Annabeth is. I kneel down in front of him where he is holding his bloody foot and ask, "Where is Annabeth."

He snorts and says with a pained voice, " Like I am going to tell you Jackson."

He must be a lackey of Luke if he knows my name. I sigh and rip my sword out of his bloody foot and he screams in pain. I ask again, "Where is she?"

He laughs and says, " You don't scare me. I am never going to tell you!"

Well I guess I have to do this the hard way then. I sigh and flip Riptide up in my hand and stab his wrist, pinning it to the wall and he screams in utter pain. I then throw his head against the wall and press my forearm hard into his neck and yell, "WHERE IS SHE!"

His body is trembling in pain and he says in a shaky voice, " F-Fine. L-Luke too-took her to a-a ba-base that is-is a couple mi-minutes from here. I-I ha-have a map. "

He pulls a brownish map out and hands it to me shakily. I open it up and look it over. Then I say in a quiet, intimidating voice," I swear to gods if this is some joke or a trap I will come back here and burn this building down to the ground with you in it. Do I make myself clear."

He nods and I rip the sword out of his wrist and walk out of the compound as he cries on the floor. I do feel a little bad for how I treated him but if I am going to find and save Annabeth, I have to be ruthless. Luke doesn't play nice. And neither will I.

On the outskirts of the new base I was directed to, I take a deep breath before making my way to the entrance. There are two guards outside with black masks. I slowly sneak up to one and knock him out with the hilt of my sword. The other guard says, " Hey st-" But I already knock him out before he can even finish the sentence. I hurriedly drag the bodies to the bushes and take the uniform off of one. It is a black and cotton suit almost like my uniform at base. I put it on and put the mask on my face. I put Riptide away and head into base. All around me there are pictures of the gods and their destruction. There are voices on the loud speaker and other guards moving along. I try to blend and I quickly find some prison cells and I can feel, I don't know how, that Annabeth is in one of them. I ask another guard,

"Hey where is that girl's cell? Luke wants me to bring her to him."

The guard looks at me and then says, " Really Bob? I didn't know you got a promotion?"

"Oh um yay it was pretty recent. You know killing a lot of people gets you places."

"Well congrats man! Keep up the good work. She is in 223D."

"Thanks!" I reply as I quickly walk down to her cell and avoid anymore awkward questions with someone I don't know.

I scan the signs until I get to her cell. I peer into the small window and I am shocked. In the room is Annabeth. But in the cell with her is also Luke. He has her pinned up against the wall and he is kissing her. Her shirt is off and there are tears streaming down her face and I can tell that she is very scared. I would be too if someone I hated was doing that to me. As I look closer I can see that her stomach is bleeding from some cuts and there is huge bruise on her face. She must have resisted Luke's advances and he beaten her up for it. I quickly look for a key and find one in my back pocket. I open the cell and act obviously to what Luke is doing.

"Oh gods! Sorry sir!"

Luke quickly pulls away angrily and says, "What the hell! Can't you see I am busy here!"

"Sorry sir but you are needed in the control room."

He rolls his eyes and looks at Annabeth, "We will continue later."

She looks like she is about to throw up but hides it pretty well. Luke leaves angrily and slams the door so I am alone with Annabeth. She wipes her tears away and asks annoyed," What the hell do you want?"

I take off my mask and she starts to sob and she says softly, "Percy!"

She jumps into my arms and I hold her tight. I hold her head in my hands and all of the stress and anger fades away once she is in my arms. I unknowingly kiss her hair although she is shirtless I can care less as long as I know she is ok.

"I am so sorry Annabeth. " I say into her hair. "I should have made sure you got back ok. I am sorry about what I said."

"I am sorry too." She whispers into my chest. "How did you find me?"

"Long story but we don't have time." I pull away and get her shirt. I hand it to her and continue, "We got to go. I can explain later."

She nods and puts her shirt back on. I go to open the door but she stops me.

"Percy wait. You have to put your mask on and I need to look like you just beat me up for misbehaving. Punch me."

"What! Annabeth no-"

"Percy, stop being a baby and just punch me!"

I close my eyes and pull my arm back and my fist collides with her face. She holds her jaw as I shake out my hand and I ask," You ok?" As I gently touch the place where I punched her.

She nods and says, "Alright lets go."

I put on my mask and we walk out. I hold her by the arm and one guard comes down the hallway and I say, " Just teaching the prisoner a lesson. Prisoners these days am I right?"

The guard nods and continues to walk away. I make sure no one is watching as I lead Annabeth down the same hallway I came in. No one notices and I use my key to open the door and we are free. I rip off my mask and we exit the compound and run across the yard but suddenly a voice calls and a loud bang explodes. Annabeth and I are still running when suddenly she cries out and collapses. I feel like I am back to the night with Silena and Charlie. I run over to her and I don't even assess her injury before picking her up in my arms and sprinting out of sight. I am running and running, my arms are on fire from holding Annabeth but I don't care. She needs to survive and I will make sure of it. I am far enough that I think I can take a break. I carefully lay Annabeth down and finally assess her wounds. She was shot in the shoulder and as I look at my stolen outfit, it's covered in her blood. I rip off a piece of the uniform and slowly wrap it around her shoulder making a sling for her. Her skin is clammy and sweaty but she will live. I sit down besides her and she says, "Thank you."

" No problem Wisegirl. I missed saving your ass everyday."

She rolls her eyes but I can tell something is bothering her. I then work up the courage and ask, "Annabeth… I saw what Luke was doing to you. Did he do anything else? Did he-"

She shakes her head and says in a shaky voice, "No he didn't. He only did that because he found out that he was chosen to be Kronos's new body. He will be transformed soon and he said Kronos is lonely and he needs a queen. Luke wanted me to be his queen. Well Kronos's queen but I am just lucky you walked in when you did. I don't know what would have happened next Percy."

I wrap my arm around her good shoulder and pull her into my side. "You aren't getting away from me. Never again all right? I think I might have aged 10 years from the stress of losing you."

She laughs and nods and we stay close for a while. Soon she falls asleep but I know we can't stay here while Luke and his men are following us. I slowly pick her up and her sleeping head falls against my shoulder as we walk through the dark forest.

We are close to base when Annabeth finally wakes up. She looks around and then closes her eyes again. She has been losing a lot of blood even with the sling and I am glad we are here. I make my way to the entrance and we are home. Everyone comes running up to me and Will takes Annabeth for medical support. I am washed up too and I have to write a brief on what happened for Athena. When all the paper work and the explaining is done, I am exhausted and I make my way to my room. I would have checked in with Annabeth but I figured she needed her rest and she will be there tomorrow. I open the door and immediately collapse on my bed in exhaustion. I am just about to fall asleep when I hear a knock on my door. I get up and open it, surprised to see Annabeth.

"Can I come in?" she asks.

I am still a little shocked but I reply, "Um sure come on in."

I move and close the door as she sits down on my bed. I sit down next to her and she says, "Percy, I just wanted to say thank you. You saved my life."

I shake my head and say," You would have done the same thing for me. That's what friends are for." She nods and murmurs, " Friends..."

"Annabeth is there something wrong?"

"Percy…while I was away I obviously had a lot of time to think. And every thought came back to you. And it didn't occur to me until there was a possibility of never seeing you again that made me realize I have…feelings towards you. When I said those awful things to you, I thought that my heart was ripped up to pieces because the thought of hurting you was so painful. And when Luke was kissing me…I didn't feel anything like I did with him before. All I could think about was coming back to you. And when I saw you take off that mask and save me from Luke I finally understood my feelings. I don't want to be just friends Percy. I think I am in love with you.

I am shocked and speechless. She loves me?

"Percy, please say something."

And I do. I lean in and rest my hand carefully on the side of her face, my fingers resting on the back of her ear and push her lips up to mine. She smiles against my skin and kisses me back. She runs her hand up my arm and into my hair and I kiss her back, showing my feelings for her. I love her. Somehow deep down I knew it from the day she saved my life. And although we have hurt each other, we know we have to forgive one another and I never want to let her go again. I pull back and say as I lean my forehead on hers.

"I think I am in love with you too."

She pulls me back down for another kiss and I know that even if our world is insane and one of us could die at any moment, that this right here is what matters to me. She is all I need and she is all I ever want. She has changed my world in more ways then one. She is my salvation


	10. Change

**Change:**

**Percy**

The next morning when I wake up I feel happy for the first time in awhile. I can feel a smile on my face that I haven't felt when I get ready for the day. I am excited to start the day but mostly because I get to see her Annabeth loves me too and I still can't believe it. I am whistling happily as I walk outside and begin to lock my door. Suddenly, a strong arm slams me up against the door hard. Something cracks and I can't tell if it's the door or me. I turn to my attacker and I stop myself from throwing a fist.

It's Annabeth.

" What the hell was that for?" I yell as I rub my shoulder painfully. She glares at me and says," That's a reminder for you."

" A reminder for what!"

She points threateningly at me, " If you think you can walk in to the control center with that adorable little smile on you're face then you're wrong! You are an awful liar and no one can find out about us."

" Hey I can lie alright. And why? I thought that's this is something that you want?"

She sighs and then looks both ways before talking my hand and saying," I do. One day when it's safe for us to be public then we can tell everyone. But right now with my mother and Luke it's not. I don't want to be a liability for you."

And I finally understand what she means. I now have enemies and she could be a weakness for me. And I could be hers.

" I understand. So I am guessing we can't hold hands in public?"

She rolls her eyes and gently pushes me up against the door. She stands on her toes and comes close to my lips before saying," Nope. But we can do this before we go in."

She kisses my lips gently and a fire is ignited inside me. I wrap my arms around her and push her closer to me as I trail my lips down to her neck. She sighs and I kiss her neck a little longer before pulling back and saying," You go first."

She backs away and winks at me before walking ahead of me. Gods I love her.

I wait and then follow her. In the control room everyone is frantic and Annabeth and I glance at each other for a moment before Annabeth asks, "What is going on?"

Will doesn't answer her and looks at me. He says," We received a note and it's for you."

" Me? What did I do?" I ask.

Before Will can answer, Athena comes over and says," Jackson where have you been! We have been looking all over for you!"

I try to speak but she interrupts and says," Never mind. We received an anonymous note today stating that unless you go to the location they told us to send you, the base will be blown up. They know where our base is and they have eyes on us at every location. Even if we do figure another way out we can't move without losing everything we have on Kronos. We are trapped and our only hope is you Jackson."

She stares at me with her cold eyes and I know I don't have a choice. I have to do this. If it means saving the only person I love in this world then I will do it.

Annabeth asks her mother, " Do we know if this is even true? Kronos has done this before and nothing has happened."

Athena says, "I know child. But this is not a bluff. He is desperate and he doesn't want us getting closer. Especially now that he is weak and in transition to a new body."

Annabeth tries to argue but I have already made up my mind.

" I will do it. Just tell me what I have to do and I will do it." I say in a determined and strong voice. But I don't feel strong. I feel weak.

Annabeth glares at me and walks away in fury as Athena walks me over to the monitor and explains everything. I have to go to this island off the shore where they want me and once I comply the base won't be in danger. Annabeth won't be in danger.

I leave tomorrow.

After spending the day training and preparing to leave, I have a lot of emotions coursing through me. I know my mother would say that she is proud of what I am doing because it's the right thing. I know this is the right decision because I can save everyone here and Annabeth. But just because I know it's right doesn't mean that I am not scared and I don't want to go. I don't want to leave Annabeth right after we just started our relationship. But I know I don't have a choice.

I decide that I need some air and I search around the new base to find some quiet space for me. I finally find a windowsill in one of the makeshift hallways that looks over the mountains and the forest. It's pretty high but I like it. I sit down and stare at the view for a while before I hear a familiar voice.

" We must have a thing for quiet spaces."

I look up and smile at Annabeth. She doesn't smile back.

" I guess we do."

She moves my feet and sits down next to me. She stares at me with her cold eyes and says," You don't have to do this you know. We can find a way around this. "

I shake my head and answer," I don't want to risk it. Not with you here."

She says, "Don't say that. Don't risk your life for me Percy."

I stare at her, " Well I am. I have to do this."

She sighs and answer more angrily," You don't get it! It's a bluff! Whoever sent that note just wants to get you and you are playing right into their fucking hands Percy! Gods!" She stands up and paces in front of me now. " You are so blinded by you're stupidity! You can't even see that is this a trap!"

" Annabeth you don't underst-"

" Oh I understand completely, Percy! It's you who doesn't! This is a trap and they are going to capture you or kill you and I-I can't lose you. I can't." Her voice falters as she puts her hands up to her temples and tries to calm down.

I now understand her anger. She is scared just like me. But I can't let her know that I am scared too. I need to be her rock.

I stand up and gently take her hands between my hands and look at her.

" Hey I am not going anywhere. I promise you, I will come back. "

She shakes her head and says," You don't know that. Don't promise me that."

I make her look at me and I say again," Annabeth, I am coming back. I am coming back to you. I promise."

She looks at me with tears in her eyes and says," You better come back. I swear to gods you better come back Percy."

And I pull her against me and I kiss her. I kiss her hard and our lips move in sync. I show her that I will come back no matter what as I pour my love into this last kiss. She runs her hand up my back and wraps her hands around my neck as I push her gently up against the window. I kiss below her jaw and pull her closer, running a hand up her side. I don't want to be away from her. I don't want to leave her. But I have to if it means saving her.

The next morning I wake up early. I pack the very few possessions that I have and make my way out of my cabin. Athena is waiting for me as I walk down the hallway to the exit.

" Jackson, I just wanted to let you know that you will learn some things on this journey."

" What kind of things?"

She smirks and says," You will find out soon enough. Go."

I nod and make my way out of the only place I can call home. But, I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this for Annabeth. And that's the only thing that is keeping me going.

"Tell Annabeth goodbye for me alright?"

Athena glares at me and says, "Go on Jackson."

When I finally make it to the shore after hours of hiking in the forest, I spot a small fishing boat. I hop in and in no time, I am sailing towards the unknown island. I don't notice the wind picking up until the sail smacks me in the face. The waves are getting larger and the skies are getting darker before I realize that I am stuck in the middle of a storm.

But as I try to use my powers to calm down the storm, I notice that nothing is happening. The storm is getting worse and I am powerless. Suddenly, a huge wave slams against my boat and a huge bolt of lighting cracks. The winds swirl and howl and I brace myself for the worse. This isn't a natural storm, it's the gods fighting against me and I am stuck in the middle of their storm.

Another bolt of lighting cracks but this time it hits my boat, sending me flying over the side. I splash into the water hard but luckily I can swim and I can't drown because of my powers. The waves are pounding over my head and each time I come up for air, I try to use my powers to help me out. But nothing seems to work and I barely notice the large object hurling at me. But when I do it's too late. The broken side of my boat hits my head hard and I collapse into the raging sea. Spots of red and black cloud my blurry vision as I sink. I am losing consciousness and the last thing I think of is Annabeth.

_I am sorry Annabeth._


	11. Revelations

**Revelations:**

**Percy**

When I can feel myself coming back to consciousness the first thing I hear is dripping water. I don't know if that is I or something else. But it doesn't make me feel better. It's ominous and I have a feeling that wherever I am its not somewhere I should me. I slowly open my eyes and see nothing but darkness.  _Am I dead?_  I try to touch my throbbing head but my wrist is constrained to something strong and metal. I hear the crackling of chains. I try to move again but only get the some result. I am hanging and chained up in a hostile place. Suddenly the lights are turned on and I realize that I am in an large concrete room. A masked man comes in with an assortment of tools and whips and I have a bad feeling that those are for me. He looks at me and says," Oh good you are up. Just in time for some fun."

I answer in an unconvincing tone, " I don't think I should be playing games with strangers."

He comes over and takes my jaw firmly into his strong fists.

"You don't get to think here. I make up the rules and you just get the consequences.

"Understood Jackson?"

I don't respond and I just glare at him. In a swift motion his fist connects with my face and my jaw is throbbing in pain.

"UNDERSTOOD!"

I nod at the mask creep as I feel numbness to my jaw. I can't feel anything and I don't think that is a good thing.

"Now Mr. Jackson the first game we will be play is 20 questions. I will ask you a question and you will answer. If you lie bad things will happen. If you don't respond bad things will happen. If you tr-"

I try to respond bravely but my jaw feels like it's not apart of my face as I answer quietly," Got it."

He brings over a long sharp knife and asks," Question number one: Who are you."

I answer quietly again, "Percy Jackson."

He nods and says," Good boy. Question two: Where is your mother?"

I clench my fists and anger flares inside of me. "Dead."

He nods and says, "Question three: Where is the map of Kronos."

I am a little confused and then anger comes over me again. Annabeth was right the whole time. This was a bluff. They don't know where we are. They sent that note through Iris probably. They know nothing and they just wanted me. I am not going to tell them anything.

I don't respond and my captor shakes his head. He come closer and raises the sword to my bare chest. For the first time I realize that I am shirtless. He slowly and painfully streaks the blade across my chest but I refuse to cry out. Blood now drips down my chest and onto the floor.

My captor asks the damn question again, "Question three: Where is the map of Kronos."

As he comes closer and raises his sword again I bite into his ear and he howls and shoots away from me. I spit out his blood and he cries in pain as he holds his ear. I glare at him as he says with anger, " You are going to regret that Jackson!"

He runs out of the room and for a moment I have a minute to hiss in utter pain from my chest and jaw. Two big guys come in now and they are all dressed in black with their masks covered. There is a loud speaker overhead and I hear that weirdo's voice again as he says," BEGIN!"

The two men come over to me and one of them brings a long pole with a sponge attached to it. I notice that my body is still wet and then I notice what the pole is attached to. There is a yellow electric box at the end and before I connect anything with it, the men stick the pole to my chest and a hot sensation is coursed through my body. My body shakes uncontrollably as the pain gets strong. I can't help now but to scream as the pain gets worse. Finally the sponge is taken off and my body goes limp with exhaustion and pain. I hang my head but before I can catch my breath I large fist connects to my abdomen sending my body into pain again. But the blows don't stop. They keep coming. At my sides, my bleeding and heaving chest, my broken jaw, and my face. When they stop to catch their breath I can barely see. My one eye is swollen while the other is sealed shut from the swelling. My body is shaking and the two assholes are laughing. I thought they were done but I guess they are just warming up.

One of them takes the whip and whips my body in the front while the other cuts into my body with the sword again. I look down because I can barely hold my head up and see the floor beneath me is covered in red. I feel dizzy because I know that's my blood. I scream out in pain as the whip and slicing become worse and my only saving grace is that damned loudspeaker.

"Enough. Get out and let me ask him again. Surely if he is smart he will tell me what I want to know."

But this time it's not that goon's voice. It's deeper and almost ancient. Familiar but yet unrecognizable.

The guards leave and when I am alone I whimper in pain and moan. My body is numb and I just want to die. Yes I want to die. But one thought, one promise pops into my head. Annabeth. I promised her I would come back. I need to get out and somehow find her again.

The door opens and I hear heavy footsteps come towards me. I can't lift my head but I want to know who the hell it is.

The person stops in front of me and says in a pained voice, " Percy."

His voice gets me to look up and I am staring into a set of sea green eyes just like mine. No it can't be. I must be going crazy.

He looks at me and I muster enough strength to ask.

"D-Dad?"

The man before me can't be my father. Sure he looks like me but there is no way that he is my father. I mean this dude just tortured me. Who does that to their own kid?

"Hello son."

Well shit.

I now try to glare at him and I muster enough strength to sound angry as I say, "What the hell why did you do this to me?"

My father looks at me with pain before punching me hard in the face. The air is knocked out of me and I spit out some blood as my father screams, "Shut up prisoner!" He then turns to the room behind us and says," Turn off the cameras. I need to deal with him myself and I don't want you guys to get queasy. I am going to break this demigod."

The room behind us must oblige because there is a loud sound and then my father says, "I am so sorry I had to do that for appearances."

I don't respond because I am in so much pain all I can do is just hang there.

"Percy I am so sorry. I didn't want to do this. There is a lot you don't know. Along time before you were born I was with the resistance. I couldn't be on the side of my evil father and I chose to fight against him. But then I met your mother and you were born. Your mother and I knew it was dangerous especially because you were my son. Kronos was told by an oracle of your birth and he sent monsters out a slaughtered many male demigod babies. But to keep you safe I decided to join Kronos and become a double agent. It was the only way to protect you. "

I whisper painfully as I look at the ground, "So beating me up was a way to protect me? I don't really see the logic there."

"No this wasn't part of the plan but since your recent actions with Ares and that boy Luke, Kronos knows about you now. And he wants you dead. So I lured you here and I told Kronos that I would kill you myself in order not to blow my cover. But I am not going to kill you. "

"Oh joy."

"Percy, please. I know you are angry with me but I only brought you here to give you information. Everything that you and that girl-"

"Annabeth."

"Yes Athena's girl. Everything that you two have been uncovering and discovering is completely true. Kronos's host is dying and he needs a new host. As you know Luke is the next host. But in order to defeat Kronos you have to catch him before he changes bodies. You need to kill him in the transition. And to do that you need the sword of Achilles. It has the power to transform its holder to have Achilles's powers. But you need to hurry and find that before Kronos's men find it and destroy it."

"Well I can't do much if I am just hanging here can I?"

"Just let me finish. Anyway the map is only revealed to those who have the blood of the Big three. That means the map can only show itself to you. When you get back take a look and it will show you where you must go. But Percy I am afraid that the waters around this island cannot heal you. Oceanus is in control of these waters. I only have so much control now that Kronos knows about you. Sooner or later he will realize my allegiance and well…. this might be the only time we will see each other."

"But I thought gods can't die?"

"Well there are other ways to punish a god. But don't think this is your fault Percy. I did this all for you and I don't regret a thing. I love you so much Percy."

For the first time since he punched me I look up at him. I look at his similar eyes and realize that he is telling the truth. I now understand why my mother fell for him. He is loyal to a fault…just like me. I guess we are a lot a like. I guess I would have done the same thing if I were him.

"Thanks Dad. Now how am I supposed to escape?"

He looks around and says, "The door behind you leads you straight to the ocean. Swim to shore and I will try to hold off Oceanus. From there you are on your own." He comes over and gently undoes the handcuffs and carefully places his arm around my waist to support me. I can barely move and I breathe painfully. He opens the door and says," This is it my son. Good luck."

I nod and he carefully lets go of me. I slowly walk through the door and look back at him. I don't know when I will see him again but I am grateful for all that he is done and risked for me. I wince painfully and say quietly," Thanks Dad."

He smiles and says," Go on, Percy."

I close the door and immediately sirens wail and I know I have to take a leap or dive of faith into these waters that my powers don't work in. There is a shout and I look up to see guards looking up at me. I painfully run and dive into the cold water.

I swim for my life and dive under, as there is bullets shot at me. I kick away and try to use some of my powers but its limited. I don't know long I am swimming and getting tossed against waves until I reach the shore. I am washed against the warm sand and I honestly have never been happier to be on land. I lay on the shore looking up to the sun in pain before I realize that I need to get back to Annabeth. She must have going crazy. I need to get back to her. I swallow and sit up almost screaming at the pain. I get up and stagger to the forest and remember where the base is. As I walk the sticks and rocks cut my feet leaving bloody footprints. The sun is burning my bareback and I feel it burning into my burns. I want to give up and die right here but I can't.

_Annabeth_

I promised her I would come back. I am sure as hell coming back. I can do it. I can't do it. No idiot stop it I can do it. I can.

I can.

I see someone up ahead and I finally notice that its pitch black and I can only see him or her through the light of his or her lantern. I notice the Resistance symbol and I know I am safe.

"Percy?"

I walk over and immediately collapse on the ground. I feel everything going black and I am losing the battle. I feel my body being lifted and I don't know if I am imagining it or if someone is really picking me up. I realize that I must be inside because I hear the shouts and gasps. I am slowly fading and the last thing I hear is.

"SOMEONE GET WILL AND ANNABETH! He is dy-

And I succumb to the darkness once again


	12. Odyssey

**Odyssey:**

**Percy**

 

"Percy!"

I am semi-conscious and open my eyes to the sound of that voice. Her voice. My vision is blurry but I am desperately trying to not give into the darkness again.

Another voice says, " Prep the operating room. He has internal bleeding and we need to operate befor-"

Before, I barely noticed any loud beeping but I do now. I am fading back into the darkness as I hear, "His heart rate is dropping. We need to move n-"

Now my eyes shut and I am back in the darkness, trapped between two doors of light. I can't remember which one I need to go to and I wish I could find the right one but I am interrupted by my vision slowly coming back.

Some bright lights blind me as cold hands carry my body to a flat surface. There is commotion and my eyes are getting heavy as someone yells, "He is going! We need to hurry before its too lat-"

 _Is it too late?_  I am already walking towards one of the lights surrounded by darkness. There is a figure and I want to know who it is. As I get closer I realize it's my mom. I freeze and she smiles before saying, "Percy turn around. Your time is not yet. You have a lot of things to do before we can see each other again."

But I don't want to go. I want to stay with her. She smiles and beckons me to go. I turn away from her and walk down to the other light. I step forward and there is a whispered, "I love yo-"

"I love you Percy. Please wake up. Please."

I feel soft hands encircling mine as I am slowly waking up. Someone is whispering. My eyes slowly open and I am in a white room. I take a deep breath and notice something is in my nose, making it uncomfortable to breath. Or is that the sharp pain I feel in my chest. Or my jaw or my face or my…..

Now I am fully awake and I remember everything that happened. I was tortured, I found my dad, he helped me escape and now I am in some white room with a breathing tube in my nose.

"Percy! Oh my gods your awake!" a soft voice calls from next to me. I turn to see a teary eyed Annabeth sitting at my bedside.  _Gods I missed her so much_.

"Annabeth." My voice sounds so weak and harsh it surprises me. She gently throws her arms around me as I weakly embrace her and nuzzle my head into the crook of her neck. I kiss her hair and she kisses my cheek and I remember how much missed her. Her body is shaking as soft sobs course through her body.

"Per-Percy I missed you so much. Don't ever do that to me again. I- I thought I lost you."

I rub her back and my eyes start to water too as I think of everything I put her through. She doesn't deserve this, but she still is here making sure I am ok where I am sure she was scared out of her mind.

"Annabeth I am sorry. You were right it was a trap. I am so sorry."

"Oh Percy it's alright. We had no idea what they would do. You have nothing to be sorry about."

She sits back and I turn my head on my pillow so I can look at her and drink her in. Her eyes are wet and stormy surrounded by faint dark circles from the lack of sleep.

She smiles sadly at me and she says," Percy, Rick found you outside. You collapsed and he rushed you over to Will. You had internal bleeding, infections that got into your blood stream and you were bleeding profusely. Will fixed you up as much as he could but there were things he couldn't fix.

She sighs and continues, "He fixed your broken jaw and nose. Your face is still very swollen but it was a lot worse a week ag-."

"Wait I have been passed out for a week?" I ask weakly.

Annabeth looks at me and says, "Percy, it was bad. Will thought….that you weren't going to make it. You have been in and out of consciousness. But anyway your ribs are still healing and your foot will need some healing. Your feet were bleeding and I was guessing you were in too much pain already to realize your foot was broken. All of those will heal in time but Percy you have gashes all over your body that some will become scars. What happened?"

I start to speak when all of the flashbacks start rushing back and I realize I can't talk about it. Not at the moment at least.

"Um I don't want to talk about it. Not right now." I respond quietly

She holds my hand and says in a comforting tone, "It's okay. You can tell me when you are ready."

I do want to tell her what happened. Not all of it though. Not yet anyway.

"I met my father."

Annabeth looks up at my swollen face and she says, "What? Did he…did he do this to you?"

I shake my head and try to sit up but quit when my body aches. I lean my head back and look at the opposite wall. I guess I have to tell her everything so she can understand.

"No. Not intentionally anyway. I was instructed to take this little fishing boat out to sea. After a while there was a storm and my powers didn't work against it. I don't remember how but I ended up at this concrete room chained up and there was this weird guy who wanted me to tell them something…I don't really remember what. But I refused and he sent his men in and they obviously beat the crap out of me. My dad came in afterwards and told me he was a double agent."

"A double agent? So is he on our side?"

I nod and continue in a small raspy voice, "He told me that the map is correct and the only time we will be able to attack him is when he is in transition between bodies. But to truly injury him I guess we have to find the sword of Achilles. He said the map will reveal it only to me though."

Annabeth gets a glimpse of excitement in her voice, "So now we just have to find the sword and figure out when this transition is going to be. This is great. We might actually have a way of defeating Kronos."

"Good." I say emotionless and Annabeth can tell something is up.

"Percy what's wrong?"

I know that I shouldn't be so upset about what happened with my dad but I am. I mean I finally meet my father and he is the one who helped create a storm that almost killed me, helped beat me up but then wanted to pretend none of that happened and act like a caring father.  _Did he know how scared I was? Does he know that I am still scared?_

"N-nothing." I answer as emotions thickens my voice and tears start to well up in my eyes.

"Oh Percy." Annabeth soothes as she slowly climbs into the hospital bed to comfort me. If I wasn't feeling so crappy I would ask why she isn't pretending not to date me but I don't care and neither does she it seems. She molds into my side and curl up against her. She runs her hands across his back as Percy sobs into Annabeth's shoulder. My body shakes as the sobs wreck through me and I should feel embarrassed or stop crying but I don't care because Annabeth is someone who loves me and someone I know I can trust. She would never hurt me and I feel safe in her arms.

If my time away from Annabeth has taught me anything it has taught me that there is nothing that I wouldn't do to get back home to her. She is home to me, the only place where I feel safe and wanted. She is all I ever want or I ever need. We support and build up each other, which is what every relationship should be. And we both need each other but we are not dependent on each other. Annabeth can take care of herself and I am my own person separately from her. Together though, we are one person. I knew it a long time ago but right now the moment doesn't seem any better.

"I love you, Annabeth." I whisper against her neck and for a moment I can feel her heart speed up. She says against my collarbone.

"I love you too, Percy."

I pull back from her shoulder and she runs her warm hands over my tear stained cheeks. She wipes a tear off my face and smiles.

"It's going to be ok Percy. You are safe now."

"I know. While I was gone, all I wanted to do was get back here to you. I did everything I could to get back as fast as I could but I am home now. You are my family."

She smiles and kisses my lips softly before saying, "You are my home too Seaweed Brain. Now you got to rest and recover Percy. You are still really weak."

I don't realize how sleepy I am until my eyes start to get heavy and Annabeth smiles, "Good night. I will be right here. I love you so much."

I smile and slowly fade back into the darkness but I don't feel like I am alone anymore.

 

**A month later:**

When Will tells me that I can finally get my crutches and walk out of the infirmary, I almost jump out of my bed and I could kiss him because I am so happy. Being holed up in a bed for 4 weeks was awful, especially when everyone has been working overtime to find the location of the sword of Achilles.

Other then my broken foot that is still healing most of my injuries have healed. My physical and emotional scars are obviously still there but it a lot better then what it was a couple of weeks ago.

Annabeth has been at my side from the beginning and I am grateful that she has been. I don't think I would have gotten better so quickly if it hadn't been for her daily visits. She made my worst days bearable and understood me when I was cranky. But I haven't told her that I have been having random, painful flashbacks to the torture that I can't seem to shake. I haven't told her that I am still plagued with nightmares and a constant state of fear. Not even my pain medication helps dull the memories or the fears. But I don't want to worry her anymore then I already am.

As I hobble down the corridor on my crutches, some people stop me and ask how I am feeling and I say the usual rehearsed story but I prefer not to tell it too much. If I talk about the experience for a while then all of the memories flood back and I would not like to flip out and act like a insane person. I eventually make it to the control center where I am greeted with a peck on the cheek from Annabeth and a nice glare from her mother.

"Glad you are out Seaweed Brain." Annabeth smiles at me

"Me too. So what's going on here?"

Athena interrupts and answers, "We have discovered the possible sights for the Sword of Achilles. After decoding myths and having me pick from my memory we have figured out the myth and the prophecy behind the sword. All we need now is for you to read the map and tell us the location."

"Mother he just got out of the hospital. Give him some res-"

"Annabeth, I can do it don't worry. Really I would like to do something other then be a waste of space. And besides what's the worst that can happen? I am just looking at the map."

"Percy…"

Athena hands the map to me and I gently place it on a table in front of me. I stare at it for a moment before my mind is suddenly transported to an ancient time.

Surrounding me, there is sand and blood. Dead men with armor and swords lay at my feet as guards come and collect the dead. One group in particular carefully pick up a man in full armor. He is obviously dead but his injury is peculiar.

There is an arrow through his heel and that seems to be the only injury on his person. Another transportation takes me to a cave in Greece where two men carry a cloth. One of the men says to the other, " We shall hide the greatest warrior's weapon so that no man can ever fall like the great Achilles did."

The other man goes into the cave and buries the sword.

I am kicked out of the vision and forced back into present time. My body is sweating and I awake almost with a jolt.

" Percy, are you alright?"

"Y-yah. I-I know where the sword is. It's in a cave somewhere in Greece."

"Well that is helpful Jackson." Athena glares at me.

" Mom-"

" I am sure if I look at it more I can get a better idea of where it is. Buts that's all I got so far."

" He will try tomorrow Mom. Let him rest."

Athena huffs and walks away leaving Annabeth and I alone. Annabeth smiles lightly and says," Sorry. She has been really moody after she found out about us."

" I can tell. Whatever she has never liked me anyway so I am not so heart broken over it."

" Good. We need to get you back to bed though. You shouldn't be up and walking on that foot."

"Aww but I just got out of bedddd."

" C'mon Seaweed Brain."

A couple of weeks later I am finally healed. My foot is out of its boot and I don't need any more medicine. I got cleared by Will yesterday to resume training which I was really excited to be finally be up and about. I also was able to read the map a little further and I figured out the reason why only I can see the map is that the man who hid the sword was a son of Poseidon.

The man also created the map. And with the power of a magical witch and oracle he was able to enchant this map so only children of Poseidon can see and hear the prophecy. I discovered that the cave is in Athens, a couple of miles away from the city. So now all we have to do is find the Oracle and continue on to Greece.

I am at another war council meeting when Athena begins the meeting.

"Quiet! All right due to our recent discoveries we have concluded that to get the sword we need the prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi. Currently there is only one remaining oracle that I know of, and she has been recently captured by Ares and his other followers. Their new base is in what use to be known as New York City. The only way that we can retrieve the girl and potentially knock Ares out of the war for good is to invade and attack the city."

With that everyone is in an uproar. I quietly sit and look around at everyone arguing. Eventually Athena settles the room down and says, " It's risky but it's the only way. We have a month to prepare and I want this a complete surprise. So for that everyone here is going to go through a series of tests and simulations to evaluate your personal allegiance to the cause and your abilities. We start tomorrow. Everyone is dismissed."

We all leave and Annabeth takes my hand and directs me to the empty hallway. She opens her bedroom door and pulls me inside before closing the door. Annabeth smiles and says," I just wanted some alone time before everything changes. You will probably be one of the first ones to go tomorrow you know."

I sigh and say," Yah your mom really has it out for me now that I am dating her amazing daughter."

I gently press her up against the wall and slowly kiss her neck. I feel her sigh and trail her hands up my back.

" Yah I heard she is pretty amazing." she breathes

" Oh she is the sexiest, smartest and most beautiful girl I know."

I answer as I kiss further up her neck but tease Annabeth and miss her lips before trailing back down to the other side of her neck. I pull her closer to me and she says

" You must really love her."

I finally kiss her lips slowly and passionately as I whisper against her," I do. I love her so much."

She then pulls me towards her and I kiss her harder and run my hand up her body. We both eventually pull away for air and I rest. My forehead on hers and close my eyes. We enjoy the stillness of each other before the storm hits.

The next day just as my wonderful girlfriend predicted, I was the first one to take the test. I personally was very nervous but I didn't want to freak Annabeth out or show her mom that. Lately my flashbacks have been really bad and even when I am training I have to take a break to calm down, which everyone just thinks I am out of shape.

I go through the familiar steps that I have taken many times in these simulations and tests. Go in, get my gear on, step into the room and wait. I try to keep calm and remind myself that it's not real. In the room there is a chair with some wires that are attached to the wall. This must be the famous lie detector that Annabeth has been telling me about. Apparently her mom doesn't want another Luke thing so everyone must go through it. I sit down and figure out how to attach the wires. Once I am done a voice calls over the loudspeaker

" What is your name?"

" Percy Jackson."

" Who are your parents?"

" Sally Jackson...and Poseidon."

I don't know why I hesitated. I guess I am ashamed or something else must make me pause over my father's name.

"Have you met your godly parent?"

" Yes."

" What are your feelings towards that parent?"

" I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

" I don't know how I feel about my father."

" Have you ever considered working for Luke or any other enemy?"

" No."

" Would you ever?"

" No."

" What happened to you when you were 9 yrs old?"

_What? Why do they want to know...oh crap they found out. Great_

" I accidentally shoved a girl down a well and she fell in the water. But she wasn't hurt or anything...somehow she...came right up."

 _Oh so that's how that happened_.

" Thank you for your patience Mr. Jackson. Now remove the wires and we will proceed to the ability portion."

I do what I am told and get Riptide out. I wait for the scene to change and in a blink of an eye the scene changes and my body freezes. I recognize the sound of the water dripping and the rattling of chains. I turn and remember everything. The whipping, cutting, and breaking of bones. My blood dripping and puddling around me, these flashes of memories race around me and I am frozen. I can't move and I can't speak. Suddenly there is a man in front of me and when he turns, I listen as my sword clashes to the ground.

It's my father.


	13. This Is War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Hope you are liking it so far! So to help with upcoming plot points, the POV of a character will be added so hopefully that doesn't confuse you! Enjoy!

**This is War:**

**Percy**

My body is trembling as I see my father. His familiar sea green eyes are cold and dark. He is glaring at me and I can't move. I can't speak. My sword is on the ground and my father laughs.

"And to think you are supposed to be the chosen one. You can't even fight."

My jaw clatters against my teeth as my whole body continues to shake. My father is evil. He was the one who ordered for me to be beaten up. He lied to me. He never loved me.

"You are pathetic." he says as he comes closer and touches my shoulder and I shy away from his touch. My father circles around me as I continue to remain powerless. "Well this will be fun. I can finally finish what I started. You really think that I love you or even want you? Why do you think I left you! No one would want a son who is so weak."

Something hard strikes my jaw and I fall to the cold floor. My father stands over me and glares down at me," Get up and fight me you coward!"

But I can't move. I try to reach for Riptide but he steps on my hand and I cry out in pain. Suddenly the room is spinning and my head hurts. There are images forming and I can't distinguish them until I see it. My father with my mother and then he stabs her. He was the one who killed my mom and it was a planned by him and Ares. All of those images of them meeting and laughing swirl around me and my head starts to pound. I continually see my mother's shocked face when she was stabbed and I see my father laughing over and over.

"You think you are the savior! You can't save yourself! I should have killed you when I had the chance, you aren't even my son! HAHHAHA!"

And then I can hear him laughing as the room spins faster and I curl up in a ball shaking. I can't get his laugh out of my head.

"Stop it."

The room spins faster and faster and my father laughs harder. I can feel the sword cutting into my chest and his hand colliding with my face like it did in that dark room. I can hear my mother gasping in pain and screaming my name. I can't stop it. I can't stop it.

"STOOOPPPP!"

My screams echo off the walls and everything vanishes until I am back in the simulation room. But that last scream that I heard wasn't mine.

"STOPP! PLEASE!"

It was Annabeth's. Her hands are suddenly around my shoulder as I see her face come towards mine.

"Percy, it's ok. Ssh it's ok."

She helps me sit up and I shake in her arms as she stands me up and walks out of the simulation room with me. We walk past her mother and Annabeth's anger turns on her.

"What the hell is your problem? He doesn't need to be the first one in a simulation nor does he need you to manipulate his test. How dare you do that to him after everything he has been through!"

Annabeth continues to walk me to my room and once we get there, she sits me down on the bed and tries to calm my shaking body.

"Percy that wasn't real…"

"He killed her."

"Percy, you know that's not true. That was nothing more the a false fear that my mother manipulated."

"He killed her. "

"Percy…"

"He killed her."

"PERCY!" her hands grab my face and forces me to look at her. "Your father did not kill your mother. You know that Ares did that. He did not try to torture you."

I look at her and I snap out of it and all of the emotions come pouring out. I start crying and she holds me close.

"Anna-annabeth he doesn't care about me. He left my-my mother and I-I with Ares. He-he made a s-storm to get me-e to th-hat island. He-he tortured me. He-" But my sobs caught off whatever I wanted to say and Annabeth cradles my head against her shoulder and rubs my back.

"Percy, it's going to be ok. Ssh."

"No-no it's not. How can it be-e when I am afraid of my-my own fath-er. I...I hate him."

The next day I am feeling better and I decide to go ask Athena if I could retake my test. She looks at me with dead eyes and flatly says.

"No."

"What? I'm fine. That test was just difficult and you manipulated it. That wasn't real."

"I did nothing. The simulation feeds off of your own fears and memories. All of that was real and it showed me that you are not ready to go back into combat."

"So what I have to stay here while everyone goes off to fight?"

"Precisely."

"You can't be serious!"

"Oh I am dead serious Percy Jackson. If you ever want to be cleared for combat again then I suggest you get a handle on your fears and leran how to control them. Until then you are not going anywhere."

I wanted to punch her so hard in the face but then decided that wouldn't help and I would probably get beaten up because she is also a god. I angrily turned away and went to go blow off steam.

Annabeth eventually finds and informs me that tomorrow they will all be heading out to New York. And I have to stay here.

"This is so stupid! I am fine!"

"Percy, are you kidding me? You are not fine! That was not fine yesterday. You are still hurting and you have such horrible emotional scars that you can't fix in a day. You need time to heal and get some help because you have been through so much in the last couple of months and you have seen no one to help you cope with everything. I mean you lost your mother-"

"This isn't about that Annabeth."

"YES IT IS!" she screams out of nowhere and gets in my face, "Percy, your mother was murdered right in front of you and you just went through something so horrific anyone would be scarred by it, even someone who has as much power as you do. Just because you have some prophecy that predicts you are supposed to save the world doesn't make you immune to emotion. You can't just keeping everything inside and only let it out to me. You need to see someone who can help you cope with everything. I can't do that for you. All I can do is comfort you and try to make you feel better. And although I don't agree on how my mother did it, I agree with her decision. It would be better if you stayed and healed."

"Annabeth- "

"Percy I already almost lost you. I want you to be fighting at my side, but I can't take that risk especially when you are in so much pain. What happens when we are in combat and there is something that triggers a flashback. If you handle that like you did in the simulation then you will be killed and I can't lose you. So please stay here for me. You can still help with the battles and we are coming back here before we make any major decision on what to do next. Please I need you to stay here and get better. I need you to be safe."

I don't want to agree with her but I understand. I sigh angrily and gently play with her hands in mine while I ask.

"Fine you are right. It isn't fair to you and if roles were reversed, I would want the same thing for you too. I don't want to lose you again. So, how long will you be at the front lines?

She looks down and whispers, " Six months."

The next week I have so many emotions running through me, I can't keep my head straight sometimes. I am nervous, anxious, afraid, worried, and angry. Annabeth is leaving today and I hate how I have to stay here and be away from her for six months while she fights in a dangerous war and I can't lose her. But the worst part about all of it is that I have no way of contacting her because it can risk blowing the operation and Kronos's army might find out their combat secrets. How will I know if she is alive or dead? The only person I can contact is Athena and that's only if I have some groundbreaking discovery for the map. The next coming months are going to be hell. And to make it worse, I have to stay here with a therapist named Susie and share my feelings with her. I also have to work on the map and continue to go through the simulations until Susie clears me for combat.

Everyone is getting ready to leave. The weapons and supplies are all packed and people are going up to the surface. I am standing with Annabeth as she fuses with me as she smooths my cheek with her thumb.

" Now please go to your sessions with Susie. I don't want to come back and you haven't made any progress."

" You don't have to worry. You just focus on coming back to me."

She looks at me with her gorgeous eyes and she leans up to kiss me. For a moment, I forget everything and enjoy this moment we have with each other but I know the world is calling. Annabeth looks beautiful in her battle armor and I don't want to let her go. But eventually she pulls away and smiles.

" I'll see you soon Seaweed Brain."

" I better Wisegirl."

She smirks and looks at me as she walks away and when she finally turns, I get one last glimpse of her and she is gone. And I am only left with my thoughts and fears.

" Now let's discuss your childhood."

Susie smiles at me as she waits for my in depth account of my childhood.

" Um what does that have to do with anything?"

" Well we don't know if we don't try."

" Fine. It was just my mom and I. We didn't have a lot but we lived with what we had. Ares ruled our lives and we both did the best we could.

" And how was your mother, did she ever...neglect you?"

I glare at her and say," My mother was amazing. Whatever you are insinuating is completely stupid."

" Fair enough I just wanted to see how you grew up. Anyway, let's talk about were your main emotional turmoil comes from. Let's talk about your mother's death. "

I groan and throw back my head. This is our 14th session which means Annabeth has been gone for 2 weeks and I haven't heard anything about her or the war. I am going insane with worry and I am growing irritable with Susie.

"I'm done. " I stand up and head to the door but Susie says," You won't be able to get past your PTSD Percy until you allow me to help you."

Oh I forgot. I have PTSD which I didn't need an annoying therapist to tell me.

I sit back down and sigh," What do you want me to say Susie. Was my mom's death awful? Yes. Do I blame myself? Yes. But I don't want to talk about it because people are fighting out there and I have to do something to help but instead I am sitting here and talking about my feelings."

" Percy, you can't help them until you help yourself. Why do you blame yourself?"

" Why do I blame myself. I blame myself because it was avoidable and it's my fault. Ares wanted me and my mom was the quickest way to get to me and he knew that. It's my fault she is dead."

"No it isn't Percy. You had no way of knowing what Ares was planning nor did you have any control over the fates. They decide when and what happens and we just have to deal with that. Your mother's death was tragic but it was part of a plan. Although it's awful and difficult to understand that you need to learn how to get past the guilt."

"But how can I get past it? It's not just something you forget about. I feel her death with me everyday and sometimes it's more pronounced with others."

"You get past it by understanding that it was part of a plan that you had and currently have no control over. It happened and it was awful but you can't back and change it. The past is in the past and you have use this tragedy as a point of strength for you."

I stay silent and soak in her advice, the first that has actually made sense to me in these two weeks.

"Ok. I will try."

" Very good. I think we are done for today."

"Thanks." I stand up and walk out of the room to head back to the map and surveillance.

I haven't been able to pick up anything from the map and it suddenly won't show me anything. I don't know if I did something or if it's broken. So instead I spin around my chair, train, go through simulations, go to therapy, eat, sleep and worry about Annabeth.

It's only been two weeks and I am losing it.

**Annabeth Pov (Surprise!)**

It's been two weeks and so far we are losing the war. We surprised Ares and for the first couple of weeks we hand the upper hand. But now Ares has got his act together and they are beating us.

I am on the outer banks of the front line in our commanding tent. My mother and I are trying to figure out a new battle strategy, but nothing was coming. Nothing we can do to make this war shorter though. It's going to take the full six months and depending on our position it might be longer. I can't handle being away from Percy when he is hurting and still healing from this past, but I know I will see him again. I will fight to get back to him.

" We need more information about the surrounding areas before we make any plans on strategy. Annabeth, take a team and go search for something that could give us an advantage. "

I nod and grab my usual team and we head out. It takes us almost the whole day to get to the enemies camp without getting spotted, but once we are there I look around for anything. And then I finally see is a supply line that runs through the next town to camp. If we can invade and take over the town that supplies Ares's troops and caught off that supply line, that could definitely get us back into the game. My team and I go back and I report to my mother.

"Ares is being supplied by the town over. If we- "

"Yes I know. We attack tonight."

"Mother-"

"Annabeth not now. I want every piece of that operation destroyed and the town under our control by tonight. The faster we can capture these little towns the faster we can get to New York and capture that too. Lets move out."

"Mother-" I try to interrupt again to see if we can do this without killing an entire village but my mom doesn't listen.

"This is the time for action not for mercy, Annabeth."

I nod and agree even though in my heart, I don't agree with it at all.

In an hour we have mobilized and on the move to the small town of Ridgefield. My mother told us we are currently in the former state of Connecticut and we will move through this state into New York. I give the okay and we begin our attack on the town. My troops set fire to the buildings that Ares's men controlled and we search for the suppliers and the factories were the weapons and supplies are made. Marcy, one of my lieutenants, informs me that it's in a small office building up ahead. We push through the townspeople and separate once we get to the building.

I have my dagger in one hand and a flashlight because pitch black and I can't see a thing. As I turn the corner, a hard pole slams against my head and I fall to the ground. My vision is hazy and before I can look around or even focus, someone is on top of me and grabs my dagger. It's a small girl with wild eyes. She drags my dagger down and I am struggling to keep it away from my chest. I look around for anything to defend myself with and I remember the pole. I grab for it and the girl doesn't see to notice my reach. Once I have it I slam it hard against the side of her little head. She falls to the ground with blood dripping out of her ear. I shakily get up and grab my dagger from her cold hand. Her young, lifeless body haunts me as I try to figure out if there was any other way.

"Annabeth!"

I turn and see my team running towards me. They hug me tight and then notice the girl.

"You did the right thing Annabeth. We noticed that all of the people working in the factor are kids. I think they were hypnotized or something. They were controlled by something and they kill whoever is in the way. But we destroyed the line and we got the main supplier. Come on let's get back to camp."

They help me out as my head impairs my vision for a little bit and once my dizziness clears, we are able to walk the town's street. All around there is flames and dead bodies scattering the streets. We did this and I feel sick. But as I walk, I notice that we really are in a war and this isn't a stimulation or a small little quest. Sometimes there are going to be choices that I don't want to make but I can't think twice on. These decisions are the difference between death and seeing Percy again. I will do anything to get back to him and even though I don't like it, I will even kill to get back home. But I know that war is all about fate and strategy and as a child of war, I was born to test the fates.


	14. Return

**Return:**

**Percy**

"Percy, you have gone through a lot in the past couple of months but I am happy to see your improvement. How are you feeling?"

I answer. " I don't know. I think now I understand my mother's death more and I get that it wasn't my fault but I am still angry about it and I wish I could have stopped it. And I am...I am very pissed about my father. These past couple of months have shown me who he really is and I don't think I can forgive him for what he has done to my mother and I. And the world for that matter. He is a coward."

" Well the anger towards your mother's death is natural because of the nature of it. It was sudden and you had no control over it which makes you angry. Your father however...I don't think he intended to hurt you and plague you with awful nightmares and fears, but I do agree with you that he should have taken better measures to help you. You have made great progress, Percy and I am happy to say that if you keep taking your meds and remembering what we talked about then I have no problem with clearing you for combat."

My heart stops and I say, " Wait? We are done?"

"Yes. It seems that Athena needs my help for some of he troops on the front line who are dealing with PTSD too and I am needed there. You will be alone here until they are done in NYC. You need to stay and watch the base and continue your work on the are direct orders, Percy. Don't get any ideas."

"So you basically cleared me because you have to go to the front lines."

"Well-."

"And so I am not better."

"Percy, you have come a long way in these last two months. Trust me you are a lot better then you were but you still have some work to do. And I think you know what that is." She says as she stands up and then says," I need to go. But I have left some instructions for you if you have some problems. There is plenty of food and-"

"Susie, I can take care of myself. I'm not as messed up as you think."

She says as she stands up and then says," I know that Percy."

" Did Athena say anything about Annabeth?"

"She is doing fine, Percy. She just led her army into another village and conquered it too."

I nod and a sigh of relief escapes me. Our communication system was destroyed at the front lines. They can only get messages through Athena so sending mail or an Iris message to Athena to Annabeth would be pretty awkward so I just live by the motto of no news is good news. And it drives me insane but it's something I have to deal with.

" Thanks. Can you tell her I say hi?"

"Of course. Now be good." Susie says as she turns and walks away, leaving me alone. And I mean utterly alone. Over the course of two months, the front lines have needed more men and of course, I had to stay behind because I wasn't cleared for combat. Supposedly we are doing good, slowly conquering towns leading into NYC. Hopefully they will be home soon. And Annabeth will be safe.

So now I am alone. And I don't like it. Loneliness leads to thoughts and that can lead to bad things. I look towards the simulation room. I haven't gone in since my first PTSD episode. But now that I am doing better maybe it's time to learn how to face my fears on my own and not with the help of pills. I don't want to be dependent on them. I want to conquer my fears and be brave and powerful, not scared and weak.

I go to the controls and set up the room. I am still learning how to get over my fear of my father. I am mostly angry at him but sometimes I am still afraid that I am weak again and he will finish me off. And other times I am afraid of becoming him. I walk into the room and I can see and hear the familiar water dripping and chain rattling. And then I see my father again.

"So you are back. Didn't get enough of a beating?"

My breath hitches and I feel my hands shake. Just breathe. It's not real. Calm down.

I answer shakily, "I'm here to face you."

My fake father laughs and suddenly his green eyes are pitch black as he says, "How can you face me? You think that if you do you will be fearless? You will be stronger? No one can be fearless. We are all afraid of something. We all have a breaking point. And whether yours is having your father beat you or something else, you will never get rid of all your fears, they always manage to creep up on you somehow."

Something touches my shoulder and I spin around quickly and nothing is there. The simulation room goes black and all I hear is someone laughing. But it's not my father. It's someone darker…older.

"You see Jackson, you're not just scared of your father. You are afraid of feeling helpless. When you were chained up and weak you couldn't do anything. You were afraid of not being able to save your friends if you couldn't get free. Your loyalty is a strength and yet it's a weakness. And that translates into your fear. You fear failing those you love like your mother. You fear that you are powerless. And you are."

I try to move but I can feel that my arms are chained. I can't see anything but then I hear my mother scream. I try to move towards the sound but I can't. Her screams are cut off. I yell, "STOP!"

Then I hear her voice. Annabeth cries my name and I struggle against my chains until I can feel my wrists cut and bleed. Suddenly there is a faint light ahead and I see her blonde, princess hair sprawled across the bloody floor. She looks at me and I try to move towards her but I can't move.

"Annabeth, no!"

She manages to squeak out, "Why didn't you save me. Why didn't you save us."

The light grows bigger and there are millions of bodies lying on the floor. They are all dead and they are surrounding me. I see my mother, Charlie and Silena. I look towards Annabeth and then a figure comes over to her and stabs her and her body goes limp.

"ANNABETH! NOOOOOO!"

I struggle against the chains more and my skin burns with blood and my cut skin is rubbing against the hard metal. Tears stream down my face and I look at the figure. It is a black, faceless shadow.

It's Kronos. I don't know how I know but I can feel that it is. He laughs and laughs and then it ends.

I am on my knees and my body shakes. I now understand what I must do. I must become stronger. I must beat him, I have to beat him. I am not angry anymore though. Now I am pissed.

**ANNABETH (Four months )**

The rain is pouring hard across the small valley that is surrounded by broken down buildings. All around me there are oceans of mud and brown water. Lightning strikes and the flash illuminates the town hidden below. One more town and we will be able to move into New York. They use to call this the Bronx before Kronos took over. But across the river is New York City and if we conquer this town, then we can get access to the bridge, which heads right into the heart of the city.

Our greatest ally is the element of surprise. We made it look like we were invading from another part but really we were camping out here all along. The Hunters have joined our forces thanks to the friendship of Artemis and my mother. I turn to my right and see Thalia crouching with her bow next to me.

In the two months that we have known each other, we have become fast friends and I trust her with my life. Her black raven hair is matted down with the rain and she puts blue war paint across her left eye. Thalia and I decided the war paint might make us look even more terrifying and I hope it does. The quicker we capture the Bronx the quicker we get home. And the faster I get home to Percy.

Thalia passes the paint to me and I streak it across my cheeks with two fingers. Thalia knocks her bow and I ready my knife.

I wait till there is a clash of thunder and scream, "CHARGE!"

We leap over the fallen tree we have been hiding behind and sprint towards the town below. We run into the streets and storm into the homes of its residents. I kick down a door and a small family wakes up in terror. I wish I can say that this war didn't change me. But it did. I have done things that I wish I didn't do. But I had to. Life or death decisions make one into someone they are not and in this war, I do not have time to wonder about the mortality of my actions. I just have to do the mission and move on. I scream at their frozen, terrified bodies.

"GET OUTSIDE NOW!"

Sooner or later, we have the whole town rounded up outside. I walk to the front of the shivering crowd and say, "Where is your leader. If no one tells me then I will not be happy. And you don't want to see me unhappy."

I wait and stare at the silent crowd. For a couple of minutes all that I can hear is the thunder and rain hitting the ground. But we know that there is someone who knows where the Oracle is. This oracle can help us unlock more about the map and will tell us more about the map. We just have to find her before Kronos does. Finally a small man stands up and says," I am the mayor of this town. Don't hurt them."

I motion to one of my men and he grabs the short man and pushes him up front to me. I turn to the crowd and say, " Go back to your homes before you all get sick."

When they are all gone I turn towards the man. "You are going to tell me what I need to know. From now on you are under the Resistance's control. If you or anyone else says a thing to Ares or anyone in NYC I can assure you it will end with your life will end. Now where is the oracle?"

The man stammers and says," I have no idea what you are talking about."

I know he is lying. I look at Thalia and she pushes the man against a wall and faces him towards me and spreads his limbs. There is a loud crash of lighting as I take out my extra knives. The man says,"Wh-what are you doing!"

"Well you see I am very impatient. Do you know I haven't seen or talked to my boyfriend in 4 months because I am fighting against the god you think is a good leader and will take care of you? Do you know how he treats others. I mean I guess you all live pretty good in this village but I grew up with nothing and the division between you and I shouldn't exist anymore. Kronos isn't a good leader and he will turn on you soon enough. And you know what? I am so done with all of you mayor's bullshit. Every mayor I have talked to have either lied to me or refused to tell me anything and I really don't like being lied to. So I am going to throw a knife at you until you tell me where the oracle is. And trust me my aim is very good."

"Y-You can't"

"Oh I can. And I will. So now where is the oracle?"

The mayor is silent and I sigh. I position myself and breath in as I throw a knife right next to his head. He yelps and I ask again," Where is the oracle!"

He says," In-in the city!"

I sigh angrily," Well I know that Mr. Mayor. I am a child of Athena after all. Don't discredit me."

I let another knife go and it lands right below his family jewels. He closes his eyes and I tisk at him, "That would not have been good. Now tell me before I have to chop your balls off."

He stammers and says, "O-Ok! Ok! She is at the corner of Vermont and 53Th street. The top floor, room 7!"

I smile and say, "Thank you! See it wasn't so difficult. Now go back to your home and remember our deal. No contact or mention of us. Or my friend here will shoot a bow into your chest? Understood?"

He nods and runs off. Thalia comes to me and says, "That was interesting."

I give her a look and walk away and she follows me. I see a fountain and splash some water on my face as I say, "I didn't want to deal with anymore crap. I want to find this oracle and take her back to base. I'm done with fighting. I don't like the person I'm becoming. If you have a problem then you should join a different squad. "

"Trust me Annabeth I get it. It was just funny to see you so…intimating."

I wipe my face and answer, "Well I can be when I want to. I have to go call my mother and tell her the Bronx is captured. And I am also going to tell her that I'm only going into NYC for the oracle. Then I'm done."

**PERCY POV (4 1/2 months)**

Being alone is not fun at all. Sure, you can fart whenever you want and not worry about people being disgusted and basically do whatever you want, but it's also very lonely. So in my free time I workout and train. I figure when everyone comes back, I will be able to prove that I can handle myself in combat both physically and mentally. I keep going into the simulation and it changes from time to time but it stays within the same fear. I am afraid of failing and being powerless. And no matter how hard I try to conquer it I can't. So I just pretend I don't have it.

I haven't heard about anything on the front lines, but I hope Annabeth is safe and we are doing what we set out to do. To find the oracle and capture NYC.

I just hope she comes home soon.

**ANNABETH (4 1/2 months)**

After this last battle I will be going home. It took awhile to convince my mother but I finally got her to understand and allow me to find the oracle and bring her back to base.

A week ago we finally advanced on NYC through the Bronx and the bridge. We have been pushing through Ares's defenses but even without my team's help, my mother will be able to take NYC soon. But in the process, we have lost a lot of people.

Will...Will got killed yesterday and I am still shocked. But I am more angry then upset. He was killed because we had to find this oracle. And when I find this oracle, I am bringing her back to base and I am leaving this stupid war. For good.

My troop is slowly making our way towards the building. We crouch outside against the wall. Lily, my second in command, hands me a smoke bomb and I kick down the door and toss it in. We wait a couple of seconds before I give the ok and we slowly go into the building. Inside there is a set of stairs and a hallway. I motion one half of the group to follow me while the other goes to the right of the hall. I can't see how far up the top floor is but we start climbing the staircase anyway. The smoke clears and I can tell that it's 10 floors up. Someone groans and I give them a look before we start up again.

The building is silent and I know something is coming whether it be a trap or a surprise. Up above us, I see a foot and I silently stop my troop. I look for an exit and we go through. We are on the 6th floor and need to get to the 7th. As we make our way towards the hallway, I can see that the door to the floors has a broken down vending machine by it. I motion for one group to go back up the stairs and another small group follows me. I remember the windows outside would be a easy climb up to the next floor and I go to a door and kick it down and while I have my knife ready.

The window is slightly open and Lily goes to open it. She checks around before slowly opening it and climbing out and Rob and I follow her. The window stills are narrow but not too far apart that we can jump up between them.

Lily is ahead of us when suddenly, the still is weak and breaks. I scream and Rob covers my mouth as Lily tries to hold on to the broken still up and across from me. Rob holds me back and I try to get to her but I can't. The still breaks and she falls right next to us and we are powerless to stop it. I sob and watch her fall.

I killed her. I could have saved her but I was just so frozen with fear that I couldn't move.

The rest of our climb is silent as I quietly sob and Rob's hands shakes. We break through the 7th story and I kick in a window. Quietly, I slide in and Rob follows. We go to the door and I open it partially. No one except the guards are there and the machine blocks us. Rob and I slowly walk and hide until I see my other team waiting. And then I strike.

I leap out and slash the guy's who is closest the the vending machine neck and I throw him to the ground. The other comes at me and I stab him with my dagger and twist his arm as I kick him down. I feel warm blood on my face and I wipe it off. I don't care what I look like. I can't let emotions get to me again. Everyone I have lost is because of my inability to act when in the face of fear. And my emotions and grief for them are prohibiting me to act. I need to get out of here.

My team looks at me in shock and I kick down the door that the guards were guarding. Inside by the door a figure is sitting with her body away from me.

" I knew you were coming." in a quiet deadly voice.

I walk up to her and hold me dagger to her neck and I press hard.

" Get up."

"Silly girl. Your hands are trembling. Are you scared? Or is that guilt I sense?"

I press the knife hard and she finally stands and I tie her wrists. When we get outside I give her to Rob and say," Don't let her leave your sight."

I storm down the stairs in a rage. Lily...Will and so many others died. Four months of my life are gone. Four months and so much murder and senseless killing for one stupid oracle. What was the point? What is so that four months of war could change me into someone I am afraid of and I don't recognize? Four months away from Percy and my growing ache to be by him grows as I finally decide I am done.

When I get to base, my mother is there to congratulate me but I am not amused. I grab the oracle and say," A deal is a deal. I helped advance into NYC and I got the oracle. She is coming with me and I am going to base."

" Things have change Annabeth. We still need you here."

" No! I am leaving now. You forced me here and I have served you faithfully. But no mother should force her daughter to become a monster! I don't know who I am! I have killed so many innocent people Mom! I would have never done any of that if you didn't jam my head with action and duty instead of mercy! I am a monster because of you! So I am leaving!"

My mother stares me down and I stare back.

" It's war Annabeth. And we are fighting for our freedom!"

" I know that mother! I know! But there are other ways to get that! Burning down towns and killing leaders isn't the way! And you FORCED me to do that! Me, your daughter!"

I can't stop the tears from flowing down my hot, flustered cheeks.

" I need you here, Annabeth. We still have work to do!"

" Then do it yourself! I'm done. I am figuring out the map and going home to Percy. Call me when the war is over."

I fling my owl pendent at her and she looks just as pissed as I am. The pendent was for her commanding officers or her accomplices to murder.

I grab the oracle and start out on the road towards base.

**PERCY ( 3 weeks laters)**

I have been working out all day in complete silence so it's weird when I heard my name being called. Either I am sleeping, hallucinating or I have a ghost as a new friend. I guess I wouldn't mind Casper as a friend.

I grab my towel and rub the sweat off my face and twirl it around my bare shoulders. Since I have been alone, I don't see the need for shirts and they keeps my laundry low anyway.

When I get to the hallway I stop dead in my tracks.

" Percy."

It's Annabeth standing on the other end of the hall. Her face is covered in mud and some blood and she is still in her battle armor. She looks beautiful. I rush towards her and in a second we meet and quickly find each other's lips. I hold her close and kiss her hard because I know that this is real. She is safe. She is back.

When we separate she smiles and I run my hands over her face checking for any injuries but the blood seems to be someone elses.

She asks," Have you been working out?"

I mean I have. I have gotten leaner and more muscular I guess but I wasn't expecting her to see that.

" Well what else was I suppose to do? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Just kiss me, Percy." She pulls my towel around my shoulders and I kiss her again and then I pull away and hug her tightly. She sighs into my chest and I smooth down her hair.

" Don't do that to me again. I was going crazy. Next time I am coming with you no matter what even if I am in a straight jacket I am coming with. You will just have to deal with it."

She laughs and says," I know. I love you."

" I love you too." I kiss her forehead and figure catches my eye.

" Um, Annabeth who is that?"

She turns towards the figure and rolls her eyes before turning back to me and saying," We got some work to do Percy. I got a lot to tell you."

"Well tell me everything Wisegirl. I haven't talked to an actual person in a while and if it's about this creepy lady then I am always up for a scary story."

She smiles and takes my hand and I gladly follow.


	15. It Has Begun

**It Has Begun:**

**Percy**

"So you're basically saying that this war was worthless because you're not really what we need."

"Percy no that's not her point. The point is she needs a witch to help with the spell." Annabeth says as she fiddles with my hand absent-mindedly.

We have been sitting with the oracle for about an hour and this oracle has been pissing me off. She has tried to escape twice and for an older woman she is pretty fast. Now I have her tied to a chair and we have been questioning her for a couple of minutes now.

"So where do we find a witch? I thought Kronos killed them all off along with the demigods?" I ask.

"Like us there are still some who exist, I know where they are hiding. It's a little village a couple of minutes from here. I'm sure any of them would want to help to get revenge though. They usually like to keep to themselves. We can head out tomorrow."

I nod and kiss Annabeth's head before standing and getting the Oracle to a jail cell. She struggles for a little bit and after I toss her creepy ass in the cell, I walk back to Annabeth who is trying to reboot some of the computers.

"How the hell did this happen?" She asks as she looks at the broken keyboard. While I was alone, I was trying to hone some of my powers and accidently splashed water on the keyboard, which fried the computer.

"Whoops?" I answer as I come closer to her and wrap my arms around her hips. I kiss the side of her neck and she leans back and sighs.

"Gods I missed you Seaweed Brain."

"I missed you too." She turns around in my arms and gently kisses me. Soon enough the chaste kisses turn into passionate ones and somehow she ends up sitting on top of the computer desk as I trail kisses down her jaw and neck.

She plays with my newly put on shirt and it ends up on the floor along with her shirt. Her hands glide up my scarred chest and my skin burning with fire.

I kiss her back and she slowly opens my lips with her tongue and we are fighting for more. I don't know where this feeling of lust came from but all I want to do is get closer to her body, but we can't get because we already are pressed up against each other. She pulls back abruptly and I look at her wondering if I did something wrong.

"You alright?" I search her eyes and she nods and says, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? There is nothing to be sorry about." I ask confused.

She smiles sadly and hops off the desk and puts her shirt back on. Her face looks like she is thinking hard about something and I decide not to pester her with my stupid questions. I put my shirt back on and she says, "Can we just sleep together tonight?"

I sputter out, "W-What?"

She rolls her eyes and says, " Not sex. I meant just lie together and fall asleep next to each other. I just don't want to be away from you not after being away for so long."

"Oh thank gods. I mean I do want to have sex with you someday but I-"

"Just shut it Seaweed Brain and lets go to bed."

I bump into her and she pushes me back as we walk back to the rooms holding hands.

**ANNABETH**

I'm home but I feel like I don't belong here anymore. My nerves and body are constantly looking for some threat or waiting for an order so laying here with Percy seems wrong. It seems wrong to be here with him and acting like everything is the same as it was when really everything is different and it's never going to be the same. I'm not who I was when I left. Before the war I was an innocent girl who believed that my people and my cause that I was fighting so hard to protect was the salvation that this world needed. But now after I have been through warfare, I realized that maybe this isn't what the world needs. The Resistance is just as bad as Kronos. We killed for power, for control, for stability. Isn't that what Kronos wanted. How is killing all those people any different then what Kronos does? How is our mission justifiable?

I turn and face Percy's sleeping face. There is a trail of drool, which some would find gross but I think it's cute. He seems so innocent and peaceful. He is not plagued by the guilt of killing a child. He is just getting over his "guilt" when he has no idea what real guilt is. He hasn't helped burned down a whole village and walk away hearing people scream. He is happy because I am home but he doesn't know what I have done. What happens when he does? Will he hate me or will he see me in the way that I see myself? Will he see me as a murder? He doesn't deserve to be with someone like me. He has been through enough and he doesn't need me to add this to his long list of worries. But I'm too selfish…I can't let him go. I might not be the same but my feelings for him haven't changed. I love him. Everyday that I was out there I did what I had to do in order to come back to him. And now that I am here with him, I can't help but smile but even that seems wrong.

**PERCY**

Last night was a blur and but some parts were perfectly clear. I don't really remember much about what we have to do with the Oracle besides the fact that she is a creepy older lady. But the part of Annabeth laying here in my arms while we fell asleep was clear because it all made sense to me. She was safe and we were back together.

I shuffle around in my bed and find myself alone. One open eye searches for Annabeth and I don't see her anywhere. I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eye while I walk around outside before spotting her downstairs in the training room. She is destroying some dummies and I glance at the clock. Its 2 am and I don't think someone should be slashing dummies this late. Dummies got to sleep too.

Slowly, I open the door and lean on its frame, watching her rip apart the dummies and foam goes flying everywhere as she screams out in frustration. For a moment I wonder if I should speak up to let her know I'm here but she already knows as she glances at me and asking breathlessly, "Why are you up?"

I stay at the doorframe because her tone doesn't seem like she is in the mood to talk. I answer, "I woke up and you weren't there. I was worried."

"Well don't be. I was just letting off steam. I couldn't sleep." She says tersely.

"I hope my snoring wasn't bothering you. "

She smirks and says, "Besides that and the drooling it was interesting but no you didn't keep me up." She wipes some sweat from her brow and the tension seems to ease away so I step forward towards her.

"Why can't you sleep?"

Annabeth shakes her head and goes to put her sword away. "It doesn't matter Percy."

As she puts her sword away and grabs a bow and arrow, I look closely at her and try to figure out if there is anything I did wrong or if there is something else that's bothering her. Her eyes are stern and stormy and underneath the grey are dark bags from lack of sleep. I assume she hasn't been sleeping lately and I wonder if it has something to do with the war. She hasn't even mentioned anything about it. There are some healing cuts on her face and her arms have bruises and pinking little scars on them. Annabeth looks like she has been through war and it looks like she is at a war with herself but I don't know why.

I was too busy looking for signs of distress that I didn't notice her set up and shoot her arrow. All I here was the air whistle through the air and a loud thud on the target on the wall.

"Since when can you shoot an arrow?"

"Since I went to war. Thalia taught me."

"Whose Thalia?"

"A huntress who came to help our army. She taught me how to shoot because after this one battle in Harvard-" She stops and looks at me before knocking her bow and shooting again. "I know what you're trying to do. I'm fine and I don't want to talk about it."

I come closer to her and say from behind her. " I am not trying anything, I just want to know what's wrong Annabeth. If you don't want to talk about the war then you don't need to but there is something going on and I just want to help. I just went through things and I can help you if that is what you want." I gently place my hands on her shoulders.

She turns to face me and her eyes and face are stern, "Well you can't. Just please leave me alone." She pushes my hands away from her and I gently grab her elbow.

"Annabeth please."

"I wish I had the luxury of going what you went through Percy. You felt guilty for your mom's death but you weren't actually guilty and you are so lucky you don't have to deal with that side of it. At least if I felt guilty but I wasn't, I would know that it was someone else's fault for making me this way. But what I have to live with is guilt. I did this to myself and I have to live with my punishment. I'm not the same person that you knew before the war. I will never be that girl again because I'm a monster. You don't know the things I did and the orders that I had to give. I killed innocent people Percy. Some of them were children. I killed a whole town just because my mother believed they were in direct communication with Kronos but as it turns out they weren't. I killed so many people and I keep seeing all their faces replaying in my mind. They were someone's mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, boyfriend or girlfriend and I killed them. I'm a murder. You deserve someone better then me"

She shoves my hand off my elbow and goes to put another arrow in her bow. After a long moment of silence I speak up.

"So what?" I say

Annabeth turns and stares at me, "Excuse me?"

I walk in front of her and lower her bow, " So what Annabeth. You did awful things in that war. You killed innocent people and you have changed. But do you honestly expect me just to throw the towel in and give up on you just because of the things you did? You obviously think I am that shallow if you believe I would do that. I'm not letting you tell me I shouldn't be with you. Nobody gets to tell me that. We all make our own decisions and I sure as hell get to make mine. And I don't care if you did all of those awful acts. You want to know why I don't care? I don't care because I know you are a good person. I can see that the guilt is killing you and that's what makes you human. Do you think your mom or any of those others gods care if a village dies? Hell no. They aren't human like us. And because of that, their capability to feel love and guilt doesn't exist but yours does and that is why I don't care. I care about you and how you respond to this. And I know that you are a good person. If you weren't guilt ridden and upset about this then I would be upset and angry. But you are upset and I'm not going to walk away now when you need me. I'm not going to judge you any differently now then I always have. You did what you thought was right at the time and no one can blame you for trying to do what you thought was right. I love you Annabeth. And I'm not going to give up on you. You didn't give up on me."

Annabeth looks at me and suddenly her bow falls as she breaks down and I wrap her up in my arms and let her sob into my chest. I hold her close and let her cry. We stand there and I hold her as she lets everything from the last couple of months out.

 

**_The next day_ **

 

After Annabeth basically cried herself to sleep, I carried her back to her dorm and allowed her to have some quiet time to herself. She has been asleep for a while now and so it's just been the Oracle and I staring at each other for the last three hours. Finally, Annabeth comes in and she looks a little better. She still looks exhausted but she seems better. I look at her and we share a silent good morning I love you message between each other.

"Oh god the teenage hormones are raging in this small little room." The Oracle quips at us. And if it wasn't for the iron bars she was behind I would her slap her very hard.

"Shut up. All right now we are going to go find us a witch. And when we come back you better know what to do. Or I'm going to hit you. And I am usually against hitting women but you're pissing me off."

Annabeth grabs my hand and we head out of the compound. We are silent for a bit, just letting the morning birds be the only sound around us. She finally says, "I'm sorry about last night…"

"Don't be. Everyone needs a good cry. I mean I have cried at least a dozen times in front of you."

"Not about that…about thinking you would leave me. You were right, I should have known better then that."

I grimace and look ahead as I say quietly, " I'm glad you told me what was going on…I just wish you knew better then to think I would do that to you. You mean a lot to me. Now see if you slaughtered a village of puppies… I wouldn't even be talking to you right now."

She giggles and I continue, "And if it was kittens you would be locked up with the Oracle."

She laughs a little and says, "Anything but that!"

I look at her and smile before kissing her cheek and pulling her to my side as we walk.

We eventually get into a very poor village. It makes my old house look like a mansion compared to the houses in this village if you could even call them houses. Annabeth looks around and she whispers, "This is the Witch district. No one knows where this is. I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago with Luke…" She pauses for a moment and then continues, " I have been coming back here a couple times a year with food and clothes. They are generally nice people. Just don't mention your father or that you are a son of a big Three god. They hate all three. "

"Got it. So how do we pick a witch?"

"I have one girl in mind. C'mon she was hanging out over there last time I was here."

We head towards this broken well where a girl probably about fifteen was sitting by. Her skin was dark and her hair is curly with a light brown tone to it. She looks up and soon as she sees Annabeth her face lit up.

"Annabeth! Oh it's so good to see you!"

"Hey Hazel. This is my friend Percy!"

"Hi. Annabeth, where's Luke?"

Annabeth grimaces and says, "We broke up…"

"Oh gods I am so sorry!"

"It's fine. Hey listen Hazel we need your help with a spell. It's for a map that can lead us to a weapon that could stop Kronos. Would you be able to do it?"

"Yah. Anything to take down that son of a bitch."

Her language surprised me and I had had a mind to tell her not to swear so young but then I remembered that I did the same thing at her age so I just stayed quiet. Annabeth and Hazel walked ahead of me as we headed back to the compound. Every once in a while they would look back at me and giggle and I didn't know if they were laughing at me or is there something on my face but I feel self conscious. When we finally got back, Annabeth gives Hazel some food and new clothes, which I guess is a tradition with them. When Hazel finished eating and changing, we take her to see the Oracle.

"Oh good you got one of the Street Witches. This should be fun."

Hazel almost charges at the snippy Oracle, but Annabeth holds her back. I look at the Oracle and say, "Alright now it's your turn to give us something. We have a witch and we have the map. Tell us what we need to know. "

"Fine. Street Witch you know how to do a decode map spell?"

"Stop calling me that. And of course I do. It's a basic spell."

"Just checking."

The Oracle and Hazel put the map between them and hold hands as they mutter some strange words. Finally a small part of the map lights up in flames and scorches that part of the map. Hazel and the Oracle stop and Hazel say breathlessly, "The sword of Achilles as the map reads, is located in a cliff cave in Athens. The map will burn when you're close."

Suddenly the Oracle hunches over in a fit and snaps her head back with bright green eyes. The room shakes and I catch Annabeth as she almost falls. In a creepy, scratchy voice the Oracle says, " _In the ancient lands of ruins and stone,_

_Lies a cave where the soul of Achilles calls thee. Follow the cursed girl's instructions and enter Blood of the Sea. But in the retrieval of the lost weapon, you must sacrifice thee, to endless sleep, new faces or weakness. Come heroes and seek power or fall to failure._

The room stops shakes and the Oracle's eyes go back to normal but she seems very freaked out. She mutters, "It has begun."

"What has begun? I mean whatever just happened was weird but it doesn't sound too bad."

"Foolish boy don't you know that everything has a price. In order to enter the cave one needs to pay a token or price if you will. The cave and it's powers are ancient…much more powerful then I or Hazel's powers. The cave's powers are from the very first witches and it has the capability to take something away from the traveler seeking to enter the cave. The cave will either take one's life, memories or powers from the traveler, making it almost impossible to enter the cave. That is why the sword has been undiscovered for so long. But the cave decides the travelers fate." The Oracle says and continues, "And the only one who can get into the cave is the Son of the Sea god. "

I freeze and I feel Annabeth stiffen. Hazel looks at me and says," You're Poseidon's son! Oh my gods Annabeth how is he your friend! His father is a monster-"

"Hazel, please stop! Please." Annabeth yells at her

The Oracle looks at Annabeth and for a moment she says, "Guilt seems to be eating you alive. Wouldn't it be nice for that to go away?"

Annabeth quips at her, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Wait Annabeth, you and Percy aren't dating are you?" Hazel asks and Annabeth yells at her.

"Hazel, would you please be quiet-."

Suddenly the Oracle's eyes glow again and we all freeze waiting for another prophesy but nothing happens. The Oracle then smirks at me as she says, "I saw your fate Percy Jackson. Your destiny is just beginning. Be prepared there will be some challenges and even more heartbreak. You shall be my last prophecy. My fate ends here."

There is a blinding light and we all turn and before we know it the Oracle is gone. Her words still ring in my ears though

 _It has begun_.


	16. Better

**Better:**

**Percy**

We are sitting in the control room silently. After recovering from the shock of having an Oracle basically die right in front of us, we all came out here and now we are bored out of our minds. Annabeth has been sitting silently while Hazel has been giving me dirty looks and I snap at her.

"If you have a problem then you should say it instead of glaring at me." I tell her.

"Fine. Your dad is a monster and therefore you must be one too." Hazel says flatly.

"I am nothing like my father…" I answer angrily.

Annabeth has been staring at the same place for ten minutes now she seems different. Something is wrong.

"Wisegirl, what are you thinking about?"

"I am trying to figure out what she meant by that prophecy. Incase you didn't notice Percy she basically said that if you go get that sword you will die."

She looks up at me and gives me a look that screams something is going on with her but instead I take her comment as a dig at me and I roll my eyes and sigh angrily, " Well I just thought I would cross that bridge when I got to it. It's not like I have a choice. "

Annabeth looks at me and flatly says, " Gods you are so annoying. I guess it would be nice to be clueless about everything."

I am not sure where this is coming from but something is wrong because if she was really concerned she would have started screaming at me or not tell me to go. But instead she is being snappy and I don't really know why. I press on.

"I understand what might happen and I am just trying to focus on other things besides the fact that I could die. I know the risks though and I understand what will happen, I am not an idiot."

"You sure about that?" she snaps back at me.

"What the hell is your prob-"

"Hey guys? Can you stop or take it in another room…I rather not be in the middle of your relationship woes."

"Fine-."I say back annoyed but suddenly sirens are ringing and immediately Annabeth is up and pulling the security footage from outside. This is the first time that she has moved in an hour and it's another thing that causes me to worry. When she shows the footage, the sight leaves me speechless. Outside, there are villagers from my old village coming towards us and I recognize some of them. There faces are blank and they look almost powerless.

"Who are they and why are they coming to attack us?" Hazel asks worriedly.

"They are people who lived in my town were I grew up. Something is wrong because they would be attacking anything let alone us because they are too scared of Ares to be involved in our war. " I answer as I look closer at the film.

"Either way we need to stop them. " Annabeth says as she grabs her dagger and knocks bow with a determined expression as if she is back on the front lines.

"Annabeth, we can't go kill them. There is another way to deal with this!"

"Percy, they are attacking us. Now you can sit here and continue acting like a coward but if they attack me then I will attack them. There is no time for mercy, only action." She says coldly and goes up the exit to face the to face the villagers. I grab Riptide and follow her quickly with Hazel behind me.

"Annabeth is everything ok? You seem different." I whisper when I am standing next to her and she says flatly.

"Everything is going to be fine if you just stay out of my way."

She presses the button to open the doors and we are immediately attacked and swarmed with people coming towards us. I try my best not to kill them and instead knock them out with my sword hilt. As I do, I notice that their eyes are glossed over, as if they are entranced by something. Hazel figures it out before I do and screams to Annabeth and I.

"They are under some enchantment. Another witch must have done it to try to kill me or something because I helped you demigods especially Percy-."

"HEY!" I scream back and she rolls her eyes. 

"Whatever! Don't kill them! They don't know what they are doing!"

I already knew that but Annabeth clearly doesn't or she just doesn't care. I look at her and notice that she has my old friend Grover in a death grip ready to plunge his heart with her dagger.

"ANNABETH STOP!" I scream and run over to her. I tackle her and she gets up and shouts at me, "What the HELL are you doing! He was going to kill me!"

"Annabeth, he is my friend from home!" I stand and hold Grover back with my hand on his chest and push him back. He tries to get past me and I swing my sword over his head and knock him out. I look at his unconscious body and then I glare at Annabeth, "He would never kill anybody. Not even a flower!"

She smirks and laughs unhumorously, "How nice. But I still was going to kill him if you had not knocked him out. I have dealt with people under these spells and the only way to deal with them is to kill them."

And then I lose and scream at her, "I don't know what's going on with you right now but you better pull it together! You haven't been acting like yourself since the Oracle died but if you are having flashbacks from the war-"

"Oh shut up! You are telling me to get my shit together? How about you get a grip and understand that you are going on a suicide mission by going to get that sword. So I am not the only one issues and if fact if I recall you have a lot of issues especially some daddy issues."

" This isn't about me! I wasn't the one sobbing about how guilty they felt about all those people they killed in war! There are other options to the cur-."

"Like what losing your memory or losing your powers? How is that something you want to do! Doesn't sound very heroic to me. And that's what you want to be. You want to be the one to save the world right? Seems like you are really gunning for a suicide mission to prove yourself. But I guess you just like to leave people to pick up the pieces."

"Leave people? Annabeth, you left for six months. You left me when I was hurting and in pain. I mean you don't even act like you care about doing that or that you even care about me."

She glares at me and says, "Everything I did in New York I did to get back to you. I killed and lead rampages to get here faster. I did it all for you. So if that doesn't show you that I care then I don't know what you want me to do. But maybe I should have stayed in New York if this is how you act towards me. You have to stop trying to get me to relive everything."

"Annabeth, I never asked you to do any of that! I would have rather you come home and be the girl I fell for then this person I don't even recognize. You used to be reasonable but now you just think every solution ends with killing."

"Well she is gone. So better get used to the new one or you can leave." She says as she storms past me.

Hazel looks at me as I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, "Look if you are going to yell at me about my dad let me tell you that I am not his biggest fan either."

 She says, "Well,  I think I know who might have done this."

"Who?' I asked not really caring.

"A witch in my village. She is like my second mom and I have seen her to this before. She must have wanted to see if she could stop me from helping you guys. But unfortunately she can't. I want to go with you because I want to change my world just as much as you two do. And the only way to make a difference is to do something about it. I will send a message to my village not to attack us anymore. And just leave them on the ground. They will wake up and go back home on their own."

I look down at Grover's sleeping body before nodding and head back inside. I go to my room and lay down on the bed staring up at the wall. The fight with Annabeth made me say things that I know I should have said but deep down I think we both know its true. We both have changed and I don't know where to go from here. But she wasn't acting like this yesterday and I don't know what is going on with her but I don't like this new person she is becoming.

I get up and go knock on her door to apologize because I feel terrible. She answers and crosses her arms.

"I am sorry…I should not have said those things." I look at her. " That was out of line and I feel awful."

She crosses her arms and says,"You obviously meant them or else you would not have said anything so don't make excuses. I don't care what you said Percy. Just go away alright."

I didn't expect this reaction and I answer angrily," I was just trying to apologize Annabeth."

"And apologies are weak and obviously you are dumb enough to think that it would do anything. So how about you go back to your room and cry about your mom alright or is it your daddy? I can't seem to keep track of all the issues that you burden me with."

I look at her and I don't recognize her. I am frozen with her cruel words still ringing in my ears.

Annabeth closes the door and I walked away feeling even worse then I did before I came and apologized. I lie back down on my bed and stare at the wall above me.

**Annabeth**

And I stare blankly at the wall ahead of me and I feel nothing. I don't feel anymore guilt, grief, anger or love. I feel nothing but emptiness. I feel stronger and I am not burdened by those emotions that have left me and my mind in turmoil.

**Percy**

I don't know if we are good for each other anymore. We have both been through some traumatic things and usually we could be there and support one another but Annabeth was different and I hate who she has become. She is honest but it is brutal and mean. She has never been so cruel before and I don't know if I could stay with her if she is like this. We aren't the same people who met and fell in love together. We are different and I don't know if it is a good thing but I know that right now we should not be together. I love her but I don't know who she even is right now. I am still healing and I don't want to go back to those dark places especially with this quest coming up. But if being with Annabeth when she is like this means I do go back to the dark then I don't think I can be with her at the moment.

I get up to go tell her we are done but then something stops me.

I remember I told her as she was sobbing in my arms that I wouldn't give up on her and I won't. I will be with her as she goes through whatever is happening with her and I will continue to love and support her no matter what effects it has on me. She needs my help and I am not going to stop until I help her and she finds the girl that she once was.

The next morning I get up early and get ready to go see Annabeth so we can talk and we can figure out a solution.I go to my door to leave and as I open it, Annabeth is there about to knock.

"I was coming over here to tell you that I think we should break up."

I freeze in my place and ask quietly," Wait. What?"

"We should break up. You are going through too many issues for me to even keep track off and I don't feel anything towards you. You are weak and that's annoying and it's frankly selfish for you to keep pushing your problems on to me. I want to break up and there is nothing you can do about it.

I look at her and little tears come to my eyes. She doesn't feel anything? Not towards me? What about all those times she told me she loves me. Was all that a lie?

She turns to leave and I gently grab her wrist and say quietly , " But I love you, Annabeth…"

For a moment she stares at me and I can see an internal conflict going on inside her. What has her so torn up about her feelings towards me?

She finally says," Let go of me."

I do and she walks away and her absence hurts more then any beating I have ever taken. I walk back into my room and collapse on the ground. I pound the ground and I pound my fist into the ground in anger and sadness. I fist my hair and sob uncontrollably as I can't catch my breath.

**Annabeth**

I feel nothing except a small ache but I push it back and walk away. I don't feel anything. I am emotionless.

**Percy**

Everything in my body aches from the pain of letting her go and it takes everything in my body not to run back to her room and tell that I can't let her go. That I am not giving up on her and we should be together. But I have to. I have to let her get better on her own. She wants to be apart and I can't force her love for me. I can't force her to love me but I won't give up and I will become better so that she wants to be with me.


	17. Eight Weeks Later

**Eight Weeks Later**

**Percy**

The wind and rain are blowing hard into my face as I run through the forest for the tail end of my five-mile run that I usually go on every morning. I have never liked running and I have never really been good at it but ever since the breakup with Annabeth, it seems to have been helping me clear my mind.

At first the break up was awful. I didn't want to see her and I avoided her as much as I could. After the first couple weeks of awkwardness, we could actually manage to stay in the same room but then she would say some rude comment towards me and then we would fight or I would storm out. Occasionally there were a couple of moments when I thought she was better but then she would be pissed off and cold again and then it seemed that there was no hope for us.

So instead of wallowing in my emotions and my anger, I threw my energy into continuing to get better. Every two days, I usually Iris message (which I didn't really know existed until Hazel showed it to me) with my old therapist Susie to see if I am doing everything that I should be. She was actually the one who suggested the running, which at first I didn't want to do but in the end she was right. Running does help my thoughts not to wander to those dark places again.

My nightmares still happen every night, which Hazel tells me is normal for a demigod. I haven't had any flashbacks or anxiety attacks lately and that makes me feel that I am slowly getting to a place where I am starting to feel like myself. Of course it doesn't help when Annabeth brings up my weaknesses every chance she gets.

The rain is soaking my clothing and the wind makes me shiver so I run faster to get out of the cold. As I run, my eye catches a familiar spot that I never noticed I was running towards until I saw it. It was months ago that I buried my mother in a shallow grave and I haven't been back since, until this moment. Across the grave and into the dying meadow, there is black, burnt wood from where I burnt down my home.

Everything in my body shuts down as I breathe heavily. I hesitantly walk to the mound of wet dirt and stand over my mother's grave. She didn't deserve this. She should at least get a proper grave after everything she sacrificed. I close my eyes and clench my fist to calm down.

Susie told me a couple of weeks ago that my PTSD is starting to turn away from my anxiety and flashbacks towards feeling irritated and angry. She says some of my symptoms are having a hard time relating to and getting along to others, losing interest in things that you once cared about, and trouble sleeping. She also said that it can also be contributed to my heartbreak over Annabeth. Susie said that this could be a reason for the breakup with Annabeth and maybe she is having these issues too because of the war. She started to be angry with me, emotionally cut off from me and she lost interest because I was just so caught up in my past.

Once I calm down enough I open my eyes and slowly squat down to my mom's grave. I run my hands through the wet dirt as if I could feel her warmth but I can't because its just dirt.

"Hey Mom. Sorry I haven't visited in a while…it was just too hard. I hope you are happy. I am sorry."

I bow my head and rub the back of my neck as I continue, "I wish I could still talk to you. I wish you could tell me everything is going to be ok like you used to. I really miss you Mom."

"She would have been so proud of you." A familiar voice says behind me.

Immediately, I tense and stand facing away from the voice because I know exactly whom it is.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you have some errant to run from Kronos." I spit out angrily.

"Son-." My father starts but I stop him.

"I am NOT your son! You don't have the RIGHT to call me that after what you did to me. What you did to her." I turn towards Poseidon and point at my mother's grave as I continue, "Did you even love her!"

"Of course I did Percy! Our love is shown through you! You are the creation of our love! Please, I just came to warn you of what is coming."

I laugh and glare at him, "I know what I am going against. The curse could kill me or take my memories or whatever. I know alright, I don't need you to come here and act like you actually care about me."

"Percy, you can't do this. You are not strong enough!" My father shouts and I can hear the near by river start to rush at his anger.

"You know nothing about me." I shoot back and I have had enough of this and I brush past my father. But, he grips my arm and I tense as I try to stop my mind from going back to those dark places.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." I spit at him and I try to get my arm out of his grasp but he is much stronger then me. Living for eons would do that.

"Percy, listen to me. I know that I have made some mistakes and that you are suffering from my actions but I honestly want to help you. I know you are angry but I love you." He says softly.

"I can't, just please let go of me. Please." I say as panic starts to creep up my chest.

Poseidon must see my fear because he instantly lets go and he has a painful expression on his weathered face.

"Percy, I just wanted to stop you. That curse is an awful, awful curse that no child of mine has successfully beaten. Even the strongest of my offspring couldn't face it. I just don't think you are ready for this. You are still…healing."

I am sick of being thought of as weak or broken. Whenever Athena calls to the base and practically begs Annabeth to come back to the front she always looks at me like I am damaged goods, like I will never be able to get back to the front lines. Hazel looks at me like I am crazy and Annabeth just flat out says that I am weak and a coward. I am done with it. Sure I might have broken some bones and my girlfriend broke up with me, but that doesn't mean that I AM broken.

"Look I don't know what you think you are doing showing up and acting like you care about me but honestly, I don't need you or anyone else to tell me that I can't do this. You especially. You think that you can come here just because you are my father and that you helped me escape? Let's not forget that YOU were the one who decided to lure me to your freaking torture chamber and have your men beat me. It was you who allowed that to happen and you probably knew that Ares was going to kill my mom-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH! I loved your mother and I would have never ever done anything to hurt her! That fact that you are insinuating that I killed her-" my father screams at me and I somehow muster the courage to scream back at a god.

"YOU KILLED HER WHEN YOU MET HER! You killed her and you tortured me! The two people you supposedly love. You might not have plunged the knife into her but you killed her. If you were looking out for us you could have protected her or made sure she lived somewhere nice instead of the piece of shit we both lived in. There were plenty of things that you could have done for her. Do you know how many nights I listened to her cry for you? How guilty she felt for raising me in a shit shack. You could have helped and kept your precious cover but you chose to forget about us. And that is something that I can't forgive you for. And when I finally got meet you it was in a torture chamber where you allowed and help others torture me. At first, I thought that when you helped me escape that you cared for me. But after all the bullshit that I have been through and all of pain that I have put up with the last two months, I have realized that you don't care for me. You lied to my mother and me. You might be my father but that is all you are to me. You are just a concept to me and that's fine because I am use to that. I grew up believing and dreaming in a concept and now that I have met the real thing I wish I could go back to that naïve time where I thought that my father was a great man who I wanted to be. I do not want to be anything like you. I want nothing to do with you."

I start to walk away and before I leave I turn and glare at my father whose face looks like he just got punched "And I am going to prove you wrong. I am strong enough to do this. And if you knew anything about me then you would know it too."

I walk away from the two pains that have plagued me in the recent months; my mother's death and my father. I feel strong and better then I have felt in a long time. But I hear my father's last comment towards me.

"If you want to have any chance then the best time would be to leave now for Athens. Kronos is very distracted with Athena's siege on New York." He looks up at me and I look at him for a moment before turning and finishing my run.

When I walk into the base, I hear Hazel and Annabeth talking.

"Did you ever love Percy " Hazel asks and I stand behind the wall praying that I don't hear the wrong answer. Annabeth never said she never loved me and I think if I hear that nothing will be the same between us.

"I-I don't know. I don't feel anything towards him. I don't think I ever loved him."

Her words cut me deep and I come out of the wall and Annabeth and Hazel look up startled. Annaebth glares at me

"Well look who it is-, "

"I ran into someone who told me that our best shot at getting the sword is to leave today for Athens. Kronos is distracted and this is probably our only chance. I bought a little ship that we can sail on. We leave in a hour." I state as I completely avoid Annabeth's daily jab to me.

I grab a water and towel to wipe off the sweat from my brow and start heading to my room as I hear Annabeth running after me.

"Percy, how was your meeting today? Did they finally give you some balls?" She tells me when she finally catches up and laughs cruelly and says, "Haha balls. You know I never saw your balls. Do you even have any?"

I open my door as I refuse to look at her and avoid her joke, "You could have just told me the real reason you broke up with me Annabeth."

"I did. I told you that I don't feel anything towards you. That's the truth."

"Then what did you lie to me every time you told me you loved me?"

She stammers again over those words like she did eight weeks ago and she says," Well I didn't mean it."

"Well I meant it! And I have been working to get better to get you back but I don't even know if I should try anymore if you never loved me." I look up and stare right at her. "I do love you and I don't want to give up on you but you broke up with me so how about you stop tearing apart everything that I do and making fun of my issues and stay out of my life!" I scream at her.

She glares at me and smirks, "Well I guess you found your balls."

There is a moment of silence as I open my door and says, "Get packed. We leave in an hour."

I slam the doors before she can say anything more.

An hour later we are walking to the little port where I have a small fishing boat for the quest.

Annabeth is in the back of the line with Hazel in between us. We walk in complete silence with only the sound of our bags and weapons hitting each other. While I had time to back I also had time to think about my relationship with Annabeth. I have realized that in order to accomplish this quest and overcome the curse I can't be distracted. Sure, I will still be friends with Annabeth and it will hurt like hell everyday to see her like it usually does and I wish that she loved me and we were together but I have other things to do.

We get to the small boat and everyone slowly gets on. Annabeth sits in the back as far away from me as possible, which I am fine with. I start to steer my boat with my powers and Hazel asks, "So do we know where the sword even is?"

"We have a map. I can get us there."

"Well you do know that it is extremely dangerous to go into the ancient lands. That's why my village didn't want me to go. No one survives."

"Well that's positive thinking."

"Percy, Hazel is being serious this is very dangerous." Annabeth glances up from the map and stares at me. "No one has crossed the Atlantic since Kronos took over. We have no idea what's out there."

"There is a first time for everything right?" I answer and Annabeth rolls her eyes at me and goes back to the map.

I face ahead and continue to steer the boat with a slight smile on my face because I finally feel like myself. Maybe it's because I finally visited my mother's grave or maybe it's that I told my dad off today and I feel like I am one step closer to becoming the person that I once was and the person I am desperately trying to find again. Or maybe it's that I just don't care about everyone's doubts about me and my abilities. I want to prove them all wrong.

But I also want to prove to Annabeth that I am worth loving and there was a point was she did love me because I know and felt that she did. I don't know if or how she lost that along the way but I want to show her that I am worth it. I will prove her wrong and she will really see that she does love me. I will prove everyone wrong.


	18. Monster

**Monster**

**Percy**

I could feel the eyes of the archer's above me even though I knew they couldn't see us. Thankfully, Hazel figured out how to make us invisible while we try to sail into the upcoming port without getting shot with arrows. According to Annabeth, these archers are trained to shoot and kill any unknown ship coming to the port. Without a signed consent paper saying you are here on business with one of the people from the port town or working with Kronos, you will be killed. Hopefully, we can enter the port without being noticed just yet.

"Hazel, how are we doing on the Mist?" I ask.

"Considering that we haven't been shot at yet, I would bet they haven't see us."

"Perfect. If we can just get to the port up ahead we might be able to stop for some rest and I can try to repair the boat. If we just keep a low profile I don't think we will cause any attention."

We have been sailing towards the Ancient Lands for a week now and our boat has seen better days. Besides the fact that the it's not very sturdy to begin with it also doesn't help that the constant storms and attacks from monsters keep making it almost impossible to sail. If it wasn't for mine and Hazel's powers, we would be sinking into the Atlantic.

"It looks like those archers are using some modern compact bows. They seem pretty good at what they do if you ask me." Annabeth chimes in.

"Well nobody asked you." Hazel snaps at Annabeth.

In the last week, Annabeth has been getting on both of our nerves and Hazel has even mentioned that Annabeth is cold and emotionless and that something is seriously wrong. Although I knew this for a couple of weeks, I agreed with Hazel and suggested to her to try to figure out what is wrong with her. But Annabeth has been stubborn and barely talks to either of us. The only times she talks are when we are being attacked and she yells at us to stay out of her way. Even though her bow and sword come in handy when we are under attack, it's very concerning that all Annabeth seems to care about is fighting. Hazel finally told me a couple of days ago that there is a relative of hers that might be able to figure out if this is some psychological issue or if she has been cursed by something. This relative is a slave to one of Kronos's intelligence guys so it is going to be pretty tricky to talk with her. But that's the main reason why we are stopping at this port. The plan is to make Annabeth believe they are getting food or supplies and then bring the relative in and try to figure this out before Annabeth gets worse and does something that she will not be able to come back from.

"We are past the archers now Hazel. I think you can have a break from the magic for a bit."

"They can still shoot and kill us from this distance. Hazel, keep the invisibility up until we are docked at the harbor. Unless you want an arrow to the head which by all means be my guest."

Hazel looks at me and I sail the ship a little faster so she won't rip Annabeth's head off. I sail the ship to the farthest edge out of the dock and out of the view of the mountains so the archers can't see our now visible boat. When we finally dock and I tie up the boat, I suggest to both of them, "How about you guys go look around town for some food and I will wait here and fix the boat up?"

Annabeth stuffs her dagger in her pants before standing up and saying, "Gladly."

Hazel collects her stuff before following Annabeth off the boat and I grab her arm gently.

"Be careful. I don't know what this village has in store but be ready for anything. Kronos has a lot of friends here."

"Will do. Hopefully my mother's aunt can help with Annabeth."

"I hope so. She is starting to become unhinged and that would not be good for either of us."

"I know. We should be back in an hour or so. You should be careful too."

"Got it, Captain." I smile and Hazel jumps onto the dock and catches up to Annabeth.

**HAZEL**

"Annabeth, would you wait for one second!"

"It's not my fault your short legs can't keep up."

"Well if you would slow down for me then I wouldn't have to try to catch up!"

Annabeth stops ahead of me and I finally walk right besides her. She has been so mean and cold lately and it seems out of nowhere. At first, I thought her attitude was because of the breakup with Percy but then she started to be emotionally cut off from everything and that is a serious problem for Percy and I because as soon as she stops caring for our needs and safety, there is nothing stopping her from staying on our side. And if the legends are true about what this journey does to travelers, we do not need a rogue member of the team.

"Happy?" Annabeth hisses at me.

"You don't seem to be." I quip back at her and she glares at me.

"I don't really see the reason why I need to be. We are on a mission and the mission is always first. Especially this one."

"Oh my gods Annabeth would you stop with the freaking mission thing! I mean this is not you. Even when you came back from the war and got me out of my village you were still yourself. You were kind and understanding of others. Now you are unbearable to be around and I am getting really sick of it. Ever since that Oracle died, something has been turned off inside you and I want to know what happened."

Suddenly, Annabeth stops and turns on me. "You want to know what happened? Reality happened. This world that we live in, these lives that we lead only end in one way. Feelings are a weakness and I chose to get rid of that and my naive thinking. I grew up. You should probably do the same little girl."

"Well at least this little girl can handle her demons and not go completely insane and become almost impossible to be around. I don't know what is going on with you, but I swear to gods if you don't turn it around Annabeth-."

"What? What could you possibly do?" She hisses at me and I glare up at her trying to hold my ground. But then I remember that I have to get her to the secret café my mother's aunt owns and I can't do that if she storms off.

"Nothing."

She looks at me, "That's what I thought. Now get your head out of fairytale land and get back into the real world."

"Sure right after you get yours out of your ass."

She glares at me before saying, "We have to get some supplies and food and then we need to get back on the water but that only if that buffoon can fix the ship."

I cringe at her insult to Percy. Sure, at first I didn't care for him at first but that was because of who his dad is and what his father has done to my family. The only reason why I know where my mother's aunt is living is because of a letter from my mother that she left behind for me. My parents were killed at sea because of Poseidon. While they were traveling to a place called North Carolina their ship went down and they never got to my other relatives in time to stop Kronos and his men from massacring all of them. My parents knew that Kronos wanted all of us witches dead and they died trying to save their people. I was only four years old.

So when I first found out that Percy was a son of the man who killed my parents, I didn't mind Annabeth insulting him and be meaning to him for no reason. But as time wore on and we went on this quest, I started to figure out that Percy isn't a bad guy and that Annabeth really has no reason to be so cruel to him. And then when she started being mean to me too, Percy and I became closer because of Annabeth driving both of us away from her. I don't understand how she is so rude and cruel to him after everything they have been through together. They dated and she acts like it was the worst thing in the world. Percy has told me a little bit about their relationship and initially he was still confused on why she called it quits. He refused to believe that she never loved him but as time has gone on, it seems that he is just coming to the conclusion that she didn't love him and I can see it's eating him alive. He barely sleeps and I sometimes catch him staring at Annabeth for moments where there is an expression of longing but then it turns a vacant, cold look. Something is wrong and I need to figure it out, for all of our sakes.

"Fine. I think there is a place we can stop up ahead. Come on."

I lead Annabeth quietly through the streets of the small village, careful not to cause too much attention. Eventually we arrive at an abandoned shack and I knock on the door.

"How did you know how to knock?" Annabeth questions me and I don't respond.

The door opens and a man with a raspy voice asks, "Who is it?"

"I am here to see Margo?"

Immediately the door opens and we are shoved inside. On the outside, the hut could be considered as a slave corridor. But inside there are shelves of weapons, supplies and food. It looks like a place where someone was preparing for war. There are many people who all look worn and beaten from hard labor. To my surprise there are even young children playing on the ground with each other.

"What is this place, Hazel?" Annabeth asks.

"We are here for supplies. And something else."

"What? Are you…are you one of Kronos's pawns too?"

I want to laugh because that would be ridiculous and the old Annabeth would know that I would never be able to betray everyone I love. But this Annabeth can't see reason through her emotions.

"No. My mother's aunt is a slave on this island. She needs our help to stage a revolt to the ruling family who are with Kronos. And I thought if anyone knows the most about battle strategy it would be you."

Annabeth looks at everyone suspiciously and then says, "Does Percy know about this? It might be an unnecessary detour."

"Percy suggested it."

Annabeth looks at me and nods, "Fine. Where is your aunt?"

"Right here." An older voice answers behind us.

Margo looks old and worn from years of brutal slavery but I can see the similarities between my mother and her.

"Hazel my dear…my you look just like your mother at her age."

"Aunt Margo-"

"Please call me Margo. No one knows that my sister and her family lived to make it to the other side of the Ancient waters. Far as anyone knows my sister and her young children died out at sea. If anyone were to find out that there are Levesques in the New Lands…it would be very bad for all of us."

"I understand. Now on that issue we were discussing…"

"Ah yes. Is this your friend?"

"Yes. This is Annabeth."

Margo looks Annabeth up and down and nods to two men near Annabeth who come up and take hold of Annabeth.

"Get your hands off me! Hazel! You-you traitor!" Annabeth screams furiously at me.

"This is for you own good Annabeth. Trust me."

Margo has the men strap Annabeth down to a chair and she comes over with herbs and couple of spell books. She then looks at me and says, "I sense that something is off with her soul, Hazel. This might take a little longer then we anticipated."

"Do whatever you have to do, Margo. We need her to be normal or it will jeopardize everything that we are working for."

Margo nods and she slowly goes over to Annabeth who is struggling against her ropes.

"When I get out of these I will KILL YOU!" Annabeth screams at Margo and me.

"Annabeth, I am going to help you please just calm down please." Margo calmly asks as she gently places her hands on Annabeth's temples.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Annabeth shouts.

"Hazel-."

In a flash, Annabeth was free of her ropes and pierced Margo through the heart with her dagger. Margo leaned heavily on the impaled dagger and gasped for air as blood spurted out of her mouth.

"NOO!" I screamed and moved to run towards Margo but an intense pain shot through my shoulder and I cried out. I looked towards the source of the pain and saw Annabeth's dagger speared through my shoulder and imbedded into the wall behind me. With difficulty, I looked up and continued to witness Annabeth's rampage.

"Annabeth stop!"

Two men came at her and using the chair that she was sitting on, she flipped it out from underneath her and smacked the chair across the face of one. She broke the leg off and stabbed the other man in the neck and his blood squirted everywhere on the wooden floor. The man fell to the floor with a loud thud and the other women and children screamed and tried to run to the door. Before they could, Annabeth quickly ran to the weapon shelves and got a long bow. She knocked a sharp arrow and started mowing them down before they even touched the door handle. One by one bodies crumpled to the floor and soon the screaming changed into an eerie silence. The only survivor was a young boy that Annabeth had in a chokehold. Tears streamed down his terrified, whimpering face and I struggled against the knife pierced through my shoulder but each movement ripped the cold blade into my skin more and I couldn't help but wince in agony.

"Annabeth…what have you done." I look up at my old friend with tears clouding my vision. She looks at me and shakes the boy causing him to cry out in terror.

"You did this Hazel. I told you that I have changed and that you need to accept that but both you and Percy won't accept that. This is the only way to get through to you that I DON'T NEED TO BE SAVED! Stop caring about trying to fix something that isn't broken and worry about the problem at hand which is our mission of finding the sword."

"Annabeth, please let him go. He is just a kid! PLEASE!" I struggle against the knife more but nothing is helping me get out it.

"This is a lesson for you, Hazel. There is no innocence in warfare. Everyone is fair game."

In a swift movement, she breaks the young boys neck with a loud crack. His young, lifeless body falls floor and I scream in frustration and anger. I should have fought through the discomfort and pulled the knife out and stabbed her with in. I shut my eyes refusing to look at the blood and dead the stain the floor. When I do open my eyes, Annabeth is right in front of me, glaring at me.

"I can't kill you but if you ever try to trick me or do some witchy shit on me again, I will not hesitate. Also if you tell Percy anything about what happened, I will kill you too. And I can make it look like an accident."

She smirks at me as she pulls her knife out and I shriek in pain. "Thanks for keeping my knife safe, I was looking everywhere for that. Man, we really should get back and get this knife wound fixed up. You should be more careful Hazel."

"Y-you are a monster."

Annabeth smiles at me and for a moment I see the old, loving Annabeth. But then it's gone, "Every story needs one, Hazel."

I can't look at her. The Annabeth I knew and that Percy loved is gone and she is never coming back. She is a monster and I have to figure out some way to take her down, even if I have to kill her myself.

**PERCY**

I should have known something was wrong when I saw Annabeth and Hazel coming back with Hazel's shoulder wrapped up but the look I got from Hazel told me not to ask. But something is up and Hazel looks too freaked out to tell me anything.

"Lets get moving Kelp Face. If we want to get to Greece in the distant future we should stop making these pointless pit stops." Annabeth quips at me and I take a deep breath before putting the boat in reverse.

"Sure thing."

Hazel turns the invisibility back on and she looks like she wants to sob. Something happened and I finally ask, "Hazel, are you alright."

"Yep." She says and I can tell she isn't but I don't want to press on. Maybe something happened with her relative or Annabeth. But whatever happened, something just doesn't feel right. Obviously the spell that Hazel said her aunt could do didn't work on Annabeth because she still is as bitchy as she has been in the last couple of weeks. But I have to find out because I can tell that it is something very bad.

**1 ½ week later**

**Hazel**

The past week and a half has been awful. Annabeth is as cold and cruel and she will not allow me to forget what she has done. Every time that Percy isn't looking or something, she will give me a look or make a comment like "how the harsh sun is and it's just  _slaughtering_ her skin with cancer" or some stupid remark that implies what she did. I can't tell Percy out of fear for my own life but I can't hold it in anymore. He needs to know and we need to figure out what to do with a mass murderer.

Luckily, we are stopping to repair the boat after another awful sea attack. Maybe Annabeth will go and look around and I can finally tell Percy what really happened last week. I can really tell him how Annabeth killed my mother's aunt, her friends and their children all because we tried to help her and figure out what is going on.

Percy steers the boat right toward the sandy shores of seemingly deserted coastal city. It looks like no one has been here for ages because there are partially destroyed homes, streets, and abandoned old ships.

"Maybe if I can't get this boat to work again we can use one of those boats over there. I don't think anyone is even living here anymore so might as well." Percy suggests as he gets off the boat with a couple of tools.

"It seems too quiet for a place so close to Greece. According to the old map my mother gave me this used to be a city called Catania. This might be a little too deserted so I am going to go check out if we have any company." Annabeth says and walks off our small, broken boat. I finally have my chance to tell Percy.

"Well I am glad she is gone. Gods, Annabeth has become almost unbearable to even stand next too. I mean did you see her last night? She was yelling at me because I wasn't using my sword correctly and she said that one of these days I am probably going to get killed or get someone else killed because of my stupidity. I can't STAND her, Hazel. We either need to leave her here or do something because I am about to kill her. I thought you said the spell from your mom's aunt would help?"

I grimace and suddenly I can't hold back the tears I have been hiding anymore. Sobs start to wreck through my chest and I can't stop crying. Immediately, Percy drops his tools and comes to sit next to me on the sandy shore.

"Hazel, what is wrong? You haven't been the same since our last stop. What happened?"

"Annabeth happened. She-she is a monster. My mom's aunt Margo was about to start a spell when Annabeth cut loose of her bonds and killed Margo and everyone else in the room. Percy, she killed innocent children. CHILDREN! There was so-so much blood and bodies just littered on the floor. I can't get the image out of my head Percy. She killed them all. She-I don't know what happened there but she can't be trusted. She told me if I told you she would kill me but I don't care anymore. She has to go. She is a danger to everyone because she can't be controlled. I mean she threw her knife at my shoulder just so I couldn't stop her."

Percy looks ahead of him and for a couple of seconds he looks like he is going to vomit. Then his facial expression turns to pure rage, something that I have never seen from him.

"She needs to be stopped. The Annabeth that you and I knew is gone Hazel. It's taken me a while to figure that out but now… after what she has done, even if she somehow became normal again I can NEVER forgive her for this. Never."

"Well I don't need your forgiveness. It's worthless anyway." Annabeth says from behind me as I feel her cold dagger press into my neck. She slowly makes me stand up from the sand with her and Percy slowly stands too.

"Annabeth, let her go." Percy says angrily and reaches for his sword in his pocket.

"I am only making good on a promise that I told Hazel. It was that if she told you I would kill her. She told you so now it's only fair I kill her."

"Let her go, Annabeth. She is our friend and friends don't kill friends."

Annabeth laughs and presses the dagger closer to my neck, "Wow that was just beautiful Percy. You should stitch that on a pillow and put it in your house. I am sure your mom would like that. Oh shit I keep forgetting you don't have a home or a mother because you are WEAK and allow meaningless relationships and feelings to get in your way. No, Hazel is not my friend and neither are you. You two are just people who I am on a quest with. We were assigned to go and once we succeed we will go our separate ways and all fight to stop Kronos. Well you might walk away from here but Hazel will not. She will be buried her right after I cut out her vocal chords and torture her for going behind my back."

Annabeth presses the blade harder and I cry out in fear. I know what she is capable of and I know she is not joking. I look Percy in utter fear and he knows Annabeth isn't kidding around. She is going to kill me.

"PUT HER DOWN! NOW!" Percy screams and Riptide springs to life in his hand.

Annabeth glares at him and says, "Why do you care so much about one stupid life? Honestly it will probably be better to kill her. There will be more room on the boat and less of a smell for monsters. They do love that witch smell. Or maybe do you have feelings for her? Is she your rebound after I dumped your pathetic ass? Hmm?"

I can see that Percy is contemplating what his next move is. Suddenly he looks at me and communicates for me to be ready because something is about to happen and I need to be prepared.

**PERCY**

I look at Hazel and tell her to be ready. And in an instant I manipulate an oncoming wave and fling it onto the shore against Annabeth and Hazel. Hazel is able to roll away from Annabeth while she is washed away from Hazel and I can finally assess her injuries. She has a cut on her neck but it isn't too deep.

"Hide behind the boat Hazel." I command and walk over to Annabeth, who is coughing up some water.

"I should have known you would pull that amateur move." She gags out and stands up facing me. She takes out her dagger and I brace myself with Riptide.

"Well then I guess you are not as smart as you think you are." I quip back at her and she glares at me.

"So are we really going to do this? Because we both know how this will end."

"What with you on the ground, bleeding out as I make you pay for what you did to all innocent people. For those children whose lives you cut short."

"Oh please, Percy! I did them a favor! They were slaves and I took them out of their misery! I don't really understand why you want to fight me about this."

"YOU KILLED FOR NO REASON ANNABETH!" I finally lose my cool and I start to rip into her, "You think that you are some perfect solider, one who follows their orders and does it for the good of the people they are protecting and fulfill their mission! If you are supposed to be fighting to help those who are under Kronos's thumb then you have already failed! Those people you killed needed us to defend them! That's who we are fighting for! Don't you even remember what you wanted to do! You told me so many times how you wanted to make this world better for everyone, demigods and mortals. Well you aren't doing that at all. In fact you are hurting the world with your cruel ways and unnecessary killings. You are not a solider, or the girl I once knew and loved or even for that matter a human being. You are just as bad as the gods we are trying to stop. You are just like your mother."

I knew that would strike a chord with her because she hated what her mother made her do in NYC but that's exactly what she is doing right now. If Annabeth cared about anything anymore she would have known that was a below the belt comment and probably would have charged at me by now. But instead she stands there and glares at me.

"I don't care about the vision I had to help this awful world. The only reason why I am helping is because it's my duty. I had orders to get the sword and I am going to follow them one way or another. I don't care that I am not as caring or rational as you both are but that's because I know feelings are burdens and they will hinder my ability to be successful on this trip. Now if you excuse me, I have to kill Hazel and then we will be right on our way."

" You are not going anywhere. If you are going to kill her then you will have to go through me." I move to stand in between Annabeth and Hazel. Annabeth comes over and looks at me before answering.

"Alright I will." Annabeth swings at me and I block with Riptide and she smirks and strikes again.

I quickly raise Riptide to block her again and as I do, I press my foot to her chest and kick her back making Annabeth stumble. I slash up and cut her face before smacking her with the hilt of my sword. She falls down but instantly stands up and wiping the blood and sand off of her face.

"You got better." She comments and I don't care to answer. Annabeth charges at me again and for a second I think I can dodge her but she quickly changes hands and slices my side with her dagger in her left hand. I wince painfully and hold my side before stopping her sword with my strong blade. She defends with anger and kicks me down. I fall hard but get up just in time for her to hit me hard in the face with the end of her dagger. My head collides hard with ground and the force knocked Riptide out of my hands. I look around to see my blade far out of my reach. I try to reach for it but Annabeth kicks me in the face and straddles me. She furiously stabs down at me. Luckily, I move my face away and use my free hand to punch her in the face. Her head turns with the punch and I throw her small body off of mine.

My side is throbbing but I have too much adrenaline to care. Sure, I loved Annabeth but now I don't even know who she is. She has completely changed from the girl I loved to a murderer.

Momentarily, Annabeth recovers and once she regains her composure, she stands and charges again. She raises her weapon again but I hastily grab her wrist and twist it hard causing her to cry out in pain and she drops the knife. Immediately, I knee her hard in her stomach and she stumbles back giving me time to make a run for Riptide. I scramble for it but she quickly catches up and pummels me to the ground.

My head violently collides with the sand and my vision is blurry but I crawl toward Riptide and quickly grab the handle. I roll to my back and promptly to block her down ward swing and throw my elbow up to knock Annabeth in the jaw. She cries out in pain and staggers back as I stand up. She screams as she comes at me and I parry off her angry swings and we both look like we are ready to kill each other. Annabeth's face bruised, cut and swelling but she has a look of utter anger. She slashes and I block her blade once again and she cries out in frustration. Annabeth underestimated my skills because she hasn't really seen how much I have improved since she has been back. Nor does she care and I can tell that she thought this would be easy but now she understands that I am a better then she thought I was.

She rushes at me again and I quickly spin and aim upwards, cutting her shoulder. Annabeth shrieks in pain and even though I hate her, it doesn't feel good hurting her but it needs to be done.

I stand and wait for her next move, hoping she will surrender. But she looks up at me, her body breathing heavily and her grey eyes look murderous. She looks at me and screams as she attacks me again. I dodge her swing and smack the hilt of my sword into her face and wrench her wrist into a painful angle but enough to wear I can grab her dagger. I press Riptide to the back of her neck and her own weapon to her jugular. Annabeth holds still as she is stuck in between the blades and smirks.

"Go ahead. Kill me. I know you want to." She mutters.

I look at her bruised and bloodied face and I hate myself for doing this to her but she gives me no choice. She killed and she needs to be put down. I press the blades harder as I force myself to put her out of her own misery. My hands start to shake as I try to force myself to do it, to kill her but my body won't listen. I realize I can't kill her. Even though she is insane and merciless, somewhere inside me I do and will always love her.

Both blades clatter to the sand as I step back and breathe hard. I just tried to kill someone I cared about. I just tried to kill Annabeth! What is wrong with me. I am not Annabeth, I don't kill or even think about killing people for no apparent reason.

Annabeth's laughter pulls me out of my reflection, "I knew you couldn't do it. Even though you act and say that you hate me you still love me somewhere. And that makes you weak. You are just a helpless, pathetic  _boy_. I wonder what your spineless mother would say if she saw you now."

Something breaks inside me. I whip my arm back and punch Annabeth as hard as I can. Her body falls to the ground and her body is lifeless. I stand above her and my hands are shaking and my knuckles are starting to bruise and tear from all the punches I thrown at her today.  _Oh gods what have I done_.

I don't even notice Hazel checking Annabeth's limp body until she whispers, "She is just knocked out. Percy, are you alright?"

"Y-yah…I'm fine" I answer shakingly and Hazel stands in front of me, holding my shaking hands.

"No you are not, your side is still bleeding pretty badly. Let me help you."

"N-no I am alright. Just check on A-Annabeth. I think I might h-have twisted her wrist or broken something. Oh gods…"

I can't believe I tried to kill her or that I knocked her out. Annabeth someone who I loved and maybe I still love her. I am just as bad as she is.

"Percy, she is fine. You did what you had to do. Thank you for saving me."

"No-no problem. I should put her on the ship and w-we should get going. We don't know who is here."

I stumble over to Annabeth's unconscious body and gently pick her up before walking over to an abandoned boat that seems to look like it works and laying her down on a bench. Her face is swollen and her shoulder is still bleeding badly. Hazel follows me on the ship with our few supplies.

"D-do you mind fixing her up? I know she doesn't deserve your mercy but just do it for me ok?"

"Alright." Hazel quietly answers and I head to the steering wheel to get us off the shore and onto the sea again.

"We also might want to tie her up and make sure she doesn't have any weapons around her so we don't have to deal with that again. I-I don't want to do that again to her."

"You still love her don't you." Hazel deadpans and I take a while before answering.

"I don't know. But I just can't kill her, Hazel. She was my first love and I don't know maybe I do still have feelings for her but I just can't-I can't do that to her. I know something is wrong with her. She must have been cursed or something because there is no way she would have done all of this if she was right in her mind. Something is going on and I can't hurt her or leave her until I figure out what it is."

"Percy, she killed twelve people and she shows no remorse. None. She tried to kill me and if she were in that situation that you had her in, she would have not hesitated in killing you. You didn't see her in that small shack where she murdered all those people, Percy. This is Annabeth now and you need to accept that. You shouldn't feel guilty for beating her up and wanting to kill her, no matter what your feelings are. She continually makes fun of you or your dead mother and that is more then enough of a reason to knock her out. She deserves it and the sooner you learn that the girl you loved is gone and she is NEVER coming back, then the sooner you will understand that sometimes you need to make tough calls for the greater good. Trust me, if I had two blades to her neck I would have killed her because she would not hesitate to do that, as we both saw. You did what needed to be done and that's it."

Finally we are on the sea and I don't answer Hazel and she angrily sighs and goes over to Annabeth. Hazel grabs some abandoned chains that she found in the corner and carefully sit Annabeth's unconscious body up and chains her body to the bench. She then says some weird phrases and steps back from Annabeth.

" She can clean herself up when she wakes up but until we get to Greece she is going to be chained to that bench one way or another. Either physically or magically, I just cast a spell that binds her to that bench unless I free her from it."

I look back and see Annabeth unconscious and chained like the criminal and murderer that she as became. I can't help but think back to when I first met her, how strong and kind she was. And now that's all gone. Hazel is right I need to move on and forget about the girl that I lost and start seeing Annabeth for who she now is. A coldhearted monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For more info on the story or anything else, chat me up on tumblr: youseethingsandyouknow


	19. Dead In The Water

**Dead in the Water**

**Percy**

We have been sailing for almost a day now and we are finally approaching the cliff where the cave that holds the Sword of Achilles is located in. It's been a long and eventful journey but we are here. This is where we need to all set aside our differences and get the thing that we are here for so that we can somehow defeat Kronos. And that also means that I have to play with the possibility of death.

Annabeth has been knocked out for a whole day and I still feel really guilty about it. Hazel keeps telling me that I shouldn't be and that she killed her only last living relative.

In the distance, there is a large steep cliff and on top of it there is a large cave where black ravens are flying around it.

"That's it. That's the cave of Achilles." Hazel whispers as she holds up the map. My heart stops as I continue to sail the boat towards the beach underneath the daunting cliff.

"Well I guess we are here. How to we get up there?" I ask.

"We climb dumbasses." Annabeth says groggily.

Both Hazel and I turn quickly and Hazel glares at Annabeth, "Oh joy you are awake."

"Yay do you have a problem with that?" Annabeth snaps back and strains against the chains around her. "What the hell is this! Let me go!"

"Not unless you apologize for killing Hazel's grandaunt and promise her that you won't try to kill her. If you don't then I will be more then happy to knock you out for another two days." I tell her roughly, expressing my anger and that my threat is real even though I don't want to do it again.

"Fine. I'm sorry Hazel. I'm sorry you were too defenseless-."

"ANNABETH!" I scream at her and finally she listens.

"FINE! I'm sorry. Truly."

"Whatever. Let's just get that sword and go home so I never have to see your face again." Hazel mutters as she unchains Annabeth. Annabeth rubs her wrists and wince at her bruises and cuts.

"Geez, you didn't hold back did you Kelp Face?" She smirks at me and I finally turn away and focus back on getting us to the cliff.

It only takes a few minutes for us to dock onto the beach and for me to anchor our ship to it.

"So what's the plan? How are we going to climb up there?" Hazel asks.

"Well unlike you idiots, I actually read up on the location and knew there was a giant cliff that we needed to climb. So I brought climbing gear." Annabeth says as she grabs the gear out of her bag.

"Alright then we do it your way, Annabeth." I concede and hop off the boat onto the sandy shore.

"Well there only is enough rope for two people to climb. So I guess you are stuck here Hazel!" Annabeth smiles devilishly at Hazel and Hazel looks like she wants to slap her.

"No freaking way to I trust you alone with Percy. For all we know you could kill him for beating you up. And besides the last thing we need is an emotionless loose cannon." Hazel fires back and now Annabeth wants to punch her.

"ALRIGHT! Enough!" I yell before anything happens between them. "Hazel, I need you to stay on the boat and use your cloaking spell to hide it incase we attracted any enemies. Annabeth and I will climb up, get the sword and get back-."

"Unless you die like the prophecy says. Because then you wouldn't be coming back and it's a win-win for all of us." Annabeth mutters and I glare at her.

"Whatever happens up there to me Hazel, I need you to get the sword back. No matter what. Promise me?"

"I-I promise. But just be alert alright?" Hazel says and I nod.

"I'll try." I smile and squeeze her shoulder as I pass her and say to Annabeth.

"Let's get this over with."

Annabeth gets the climbing equipment ready and flings an anchor on top of the cliff. She pulls on the rope to make sure it's stable and says, "Alright. We are ready." She starts to climb and I look at Hazel one more time as I follow her up the rope.

As we are climbing, small little rocks fall from underneath my shoes and my eyes follow them down, looking at how high we have already gotten.

"Don't you know not to look down." Annabeth asks as she continues.

"I do know that."

"Then why are you looking down? Are you wanting to go back because this might be the end of the road for you?" She asks annoyed and I answer honestly.

"No I don't want to go back. I have worked too hard to get better so I could come here and fulfill my destiny. I haven't really given too much thought about dying until now."

"And what? Are you scared?"

"I don't know. Maybe? I feel like if I die in there then all of this has been a waste and I would have failed everyone."

Annabeth says quietly, "Death is an escape. You shouldn't be afraid of it."

"You aren't afraid of death?" I ask her and she stops and looks at me.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I don't feel fear anymore."

"Why? Is it because of the war?" I ask curiously as I move my hand up onto a sturdy rock and pull myself up.

She pauses and I look at her. She seems to searching for an answer but nothing is coming up.

"So it's not because of the war?" I ask worriedly. This is the first time in weeks where she is looks lost. She is completely frozen and searching for something that's lost. Maybe I was right. Something happened and that's why she is so cruel. The Annabeth that I knew and loved is somewhere in there.

"I-I don't know." She finally answers and turns to continue her climb.

"What happened to you, Annabeth?" I ask as I follow her up. We are nearing the top of the cliff and I can finally see the cave up close.

"Nothing happened alright! Just drop it!" She yells down at me and I push on either way.

"No, something did happen to you and I know that this isn't you Annabeth. Something happened and I need to know so if I-."

"What! If you die! Why do you care so fucking much! THIS IS WHO I AM NOW! I know it's not who you loved or who Hazel was friends with, but people change and I changed. So go ahead and go into that cave, Percy! I don't care if you live or die because I DON'T LOVE YOU! You don't mean anything to me! All you are to me is a means to an end. And that end is Kronos."

Her words hit me just as hard as they did a couple of weeks again when Hazel and her were talking. But I know something is wrong and I know she is struggling. But she is right, this is who she is now. A murderous, emotionless, and frightened young woman who refuses to fight what is hurting her. And I can't help her because I have tried before and I am done. After this mission, once we get back I never want to see her face again. If anything I will go back to the base or the frontlines just to stay away from her.

"Fine. Let's just get the sword."

"Fine." She says as she climbs up and stands on the edge of the cliff. I reach the ledge and pull myself up. I stand up and pull out Riptide and start towards the cave, angry and determined.

"Do you even know what you are doing?" Annabeth asks annoyed with her arms crossed and I glare at her.

"Well unlike you, I looked up what I was facing inside the cave. So who is the idiot now?" I quip back at her and then I turn and walk into the cave, not even turning back to look at Annabeth.

**ANNABETH**

Percy steps into the cave and disappears. All I can say is thank gods we finally found the cave because now he can stop asking me if anything is wrong and keep telling me that I have changed. I know something is wrong but I don't know what. I don't feel any regret for breaking Percy's pathetic heart. I definitely don't feel any remorse for killing Hazel's great aunt. I know I have changed but I don't care because I don't see what's wrong with it.

I sit down on a rock across from the cave. Time seems to pass slowly and I am extremely bored that I even contemplate throwing my knife down at Hazel to see if I can hit her. But I decide that she would probably freak out again and be a baby like she was before.

All of a sudden, the sky above me because darker and the winds start to pick up as dead leaves swirl angrily around me. I close my eyes to prevent my eyes from getting something in them. When I look up, the dead Oracle is standing right before me.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I ask the creepy lady staring at me.

" Poor child. Your service is complete. You have done far better then I would have imagined."

She raises her hand to her lips and blows at me. Suddenly, my body seizes up and all of these unfamiliar and lost feelings come back to me, love, guilt, longing, regret, happiness, sadness and many more. And with all of these emotions comes the memories that are associated with them. My pure and honest love for Percy, now destroyed. The guilt of killing all those people in villages during the war and…Hazel's great aunt and those innocent people I murdered for no reason. Each of their faces hits me and I fall to my knees as the weight of their deaths and the weight of my guilt crushes me. All of those long nights sailing on the sea and looking at Percy, not knowing why I am staring at him but now realizing that I was longing for him to be with me again, to tell me that he loved me instead of hated my very existence. My regrets and guilt and pain for everything that I have done come crashing onto my soul like the huge waves hitting the rocks below.

"Wh-what are you doing to me. S-stop." I sob as I look up at the wrinkled face of the Oracle.

"I am only giving you back your emotions dear. These are yours. I just borrowed them for a bit."

"S-so you took my emotions! Why-why make me some heartless bitch! What do you have to gain?"

"Because my dear as you can see our emotions and feelings are a very powerful thing. Your love for Percy and his love for you is so powerful that with the right persuasion, you would have made him not come here and fulfill his destiny. And to stop that, I had to take away your emotions. Without them, you felt no love for Percy or anyone. You were ruthless which made him hate you and he focused his energies on proving himself to everyone and getting the sword. This needed to be done for the greater good. You needed to drive Percy away so he could come here and face his fate."

The pain of all this new information makes my head pound and I hold my head as my hands shake, " So you took everything that made me who I am, who Percy loved for the greater good. I couldn't even fight against it."

"Oh it was hard at ﬁrst to make you feel nothing for Percy. There were moments were I had to try very hard in the beginning but eventually your emotionless state took over and you drove Percy away. You did your duty to this quest and for that the world will be thankful."

"My duty?! How is this my duty and how do you believe that anyone will understand what happened to me! No one is ever going to believe this!" I look up at the Oracle with hot, wet tears streaming down my face. " How do you expect me to spin this story huh? Oh hey guys, some dead oracle turned oﬀ my emotions and made me this raging bitch but I am better now! You took everything from me. I killed and drove the one person who loves me away, and now he...oh my gods. He could die and he will die believing that I never loved him. He thinks I am a heartless monster!"

"I can't be accountable for your actions while you were emotionless, Annabeth. That was all your doing. But I will give you one thing in gratitude for your service. I will make sure that either way, Percy will know the truth about what I did to you. If he dies in there, he will die knowing that you weren't yourself and that you still had feelings for him."

The winds start to blow hard again and I turn my eyes away from the Oracle. When the weather dies down again, the Oracle is gone and I am alone in the pain of what I have done.

**PERCY**

As I turned away and started to enter the cave, I realized I should have brought some light because it's pretty dark inside. I walk a little further and stop in front of a large fountain of water. In my research, which by the way took forever to track down, the ancient scrolls that I could ﬁnd stated that before anyone began their journey in the cave, they had to give their blood to the fountain. It was a way to make sure that only descendants of my dad could enter. I hold Riptide lightly against the palm and slowly cut my skin. Blood streams out and I squeeze my hand over the water and my blood falls into the clear liquid.

"Enter son of Poseidon" an ancient deep voice calls and I hold my hand as I cross the threshold of the cave. Suddenly, torches against the wall light up and the ﬂames guide me along the cave. I carefully walk inside the cave with my guard up. Up ahead a large stone pillar with a golden sword rise from the ground. I quickly walk towards it and inspect the sword. This is the sword of Achilles and this could be my only shot to save the world. I slowly go to touch it but the same voice from before stops me.

"Do you really think it's that easy son of Poseidon?"

I turn and a ghostly ﬁgure of Achilles is standing before me.

"A guy can hope right. So if it's not just getting the sword and leaving then what to I have to do." I answer.

Achilles holds up a platter with three gold cups.

"Drink young hero. But think carefully, one cup is the diﬀerence between life and death."

I look at all three of the cups. One has a red liquid to it, another is green and the last one is clear. I contemplate and go over in my head which one to choose, but I have no idea which one stands for which curse. To I chose the one what would kill me? The one that will take away my memories or the last curse that I am still unsure about. In the end there is no way of knowing and I pray to my mother to guide me.

"I will go with the clear one." I answer and pick up the small clay cup. I look down and slowly bring the cup to my lips and drink it. At first I feel nothing and it doesn't taste like anything. But suddenly my insides start to burn and my legs collapse. I fall to the hard, dirt ground and hold my head, which is on fire. I chose the wrong one, I am going to die. I start to think about all that I have done, who I have lost and loved and everything that I wanted to do. I wanted so much and I wanted to be someone but now that all seems lost. My vision starts to blur and my insides churn. I try to blink but instead of seeing the cave, I see the Oracle who gave me this prophecy.

"This isn't the end young hero. It's just an obstacle." She says.

"Then why do I feel like I am dying!" I ask worriedly and she looks straight at me.

"It will pass. But I have a message to deliver. Your beloved Annabeth is back. The girl you loved and longed for all of these long and painful weeks. She is back to herself and she is drowning in her grief."

"W-what do you mean?"

"I turned her emotions off for the sake of getting you here, to your fate. If she would have been her normal self, your love for her would have jeopardized the whole mission and in the end you would not have gone through with getting the sword out of fear of dying. So I took her emotions and she drove you away from her and she lead you here. To your destiny."

I blink again and she is gone. My vision starts to clear and my insides don't feeling like they are burning anymore. I just feel very weak and tired. Slowly, I stand up and the ghost of Achilles hands me the sword.

"This is the key to defeating Kronos. You need to find where this fits and then you will be able to stop him."

"But I thought this was the weapon to defeating him. That's what all of my research and what Athena said. This weapon is powerful enough to kill Kronos." I question and Achilles looks at me with his pale eyes.

"As I have said. This is just a key. Find where it fits and then you will be able to stop him. Now go before the cave collapses and all of this would be a waste."

"Alright-wait what!?" I ask confused and Achilles's ghost is gone. Above me the walls of the cave start to tremor and I run as fast as I can to the entrance. I used to be able to run faster but whatever I drank really wore me out. Behind me the cave walls are crumbling and I try to run faster but my legs aren't working. Finally I am almost to the entrance and as the walls start to cave in, I dive onto the rocky ground outside the cave, just in time before the cave collapses into giant rocks. I stand grasping the sword of Achilles in my hand and my body struggling to get enough oxygen. When the dust clears, I finally get a chance to look around for Annabeth and I find her.

Standing across from me is Annabeth and she looks different. Her face is red with fresh, wet tears and her body is trembling. She looks so broken and guilt ridden and I am conflicted about what to do. The Oracle said she wasn't herself and I believe that. Right now I can see it on her face that she is beating herself up about everything she has done. But how am I going love her again after everything she has done to me. How can I forgive her?

"P-Percy. Oh thank gods you are alright!" She says relieved and comes running over to me. She hugs me gently and my hands are frozen at my sides. I don't know if I should hug her back or push her off me. I am so conflicted right now. Before I went into the cave, I never wanted to see her face again. But now I don't know what I want.

Annabeth's head is settled against my chest and she says sobbing now, "I am so sorry for everything that I done. The Oracle she took-."

"Yah I know. She came to me while I was trying to figure out if I was dying or not." I answer flatly.

"No-I am so sorry. I-I did terrible things Percy. I…oh gods I broke a child's neck. I killed him Percy oh gods. I-I killed him!" She screams and her screams turn into uncontrollable sobbing and her legs start to give out. She slides down to the ground and I follow her. I hold her close against my chest and she wails into my shoulder, her body shaking.

"Annabeth, calm down. Ssh." I comfort her even though I don't know where we stand. But either way she needs me right now as the weight of her guilt and her emotions start to destroy her. I hold her tight as we are both kneeling on the ground.

Finally, Annabeth looks up at me and places her hand on my face. She traces her hand gently over my cheeks and runs her fingertips over my lips. I close my eyes in pain and because of the warmth of her touch once again.

"I love you, Percy. I always have and I always will. Please forgive me. Please I need to know that you are still with me. Please." She asks and I don't respond because I don't know how to respond to her. I open my eyes and look down at Annabeth's face. Her watery grey eyes are starling and I feel like I could forgive her and we could be the couple we once were. But then my eyes fall to her bruised cheekbones and cut lips and I remember how she got those. I fought her because she killed innocent people and that's not something I can forget. Although when she came back from the war I forgave her but that is because she had to do what she needed to do. It was the price of warfare. But her recent murders were not necessary or slightly justified. They were cruel and senseless and I can't forgive her for that. I don't know if I ever can.

Annabeth looks at me and she lowers her hands to cup my face as she leans in to kiss me. My heart tells me to forgive her and let her kiss me but my brain tells me I can't. Her lips brush my lips and I gently grab her wrists and pull them away from my face. I push her away to face me and she says, "Percy, please."

"Annabeth, I can't-I can't kiss you. I don't know if I still love you anymore to be honest. I do have feelings for you but I just-I can't forgive you for what you have done. You made fun of my mother's dead and you told me that you don't love me weeks ago. At first I tried to figure out what happened and for a while I thought it was my fault. I blamed myself for weeks and then you started to be cruel and I stopped trying to get you back. And then you senselessly killed twelve people including Hazel's relative and now you expect me just to take you back because you have your emotions. I know you are hurting Annabeth and I will be there to help you but as far as you and I go…I just need space. I-I can't be with you right now not after everything you have done. I can't forget about it."

She backs away from me and her face is full of hurt. Her bottom lip trembles and she says, "Alright. That's understandable."

We are in silence for a bit and finally she asks, "So if you didn't die and you obviously remember everything, then what was your curse."

"I'm not sure. The curse said weakness so maybe I will just be needing more naps."

"I guess." She says quietly and looks away. Eventually she stands and states, " We probably should climb down now."

"Yah Hazel is probably going insane." I answer and we both stand up. Suddenly, my breath hitches and my legs fail and I fall to the ground. I wince and Annabeth touches my shoulder but I push her away.

"Are you alright?" She asks.

"Perfect. I guess I am just a little weak from having my insides feel like they are on fire." I slowly stand up again and grab the rope, carefully ignoring Annabeth's concerned face.

"Percy, you should rest." She says gently and I snap at her even though I don't mean to.

"Annabeth just because you got your emotions back and have feelings towards me again doesn't mean you have the right to tell me what to do. You didn't give I shit about what I did before and now all of the sudden you do. You can't have it both ways alright!"

"Percy I get that you are angry and you have every right to be but let's not forget that I was there for you when you were hurting-."

"Oh so being gone for six months when I was at my worst is your version of being there for me? I couldn't speak or see you because you were on the frontlines killing people once again! That's your version of being there for me." I scream and she has a look of pure hurt and anger.

Finally she yells back, "Do you think I wanted this! Do you think if feels good that I killed those people and that I drove you away! I keep replaying everything in my mind and all of the faces keep popping in my head and I can't stop it, Percy. But don't think for one second that I left your side."

"YOU DID WHEN YOU TOLD ME YOU NEVER LOVED ME ANNABETH!" I scream at the top of my lungs and my voice echoes off the mountains.

Her eyes well up and she turns away from me and starts to climb down. I sigh and calm myself down and go to start to climb down. My hands are shaking from the anger and my newfound weakness and I don't know what my future holds with this curse. I carefully put the end of the sword in my waistline and I start to climb down to try and figure out what to do next. I need to figure out what I want with Annabeth and I need to figure out the missing part to this sword. I have to find the missing link and finally put an end to Kronos once and for all


	20. All Through The Night

_**All Through the Night** _

**Percy**

The waves rock the boat back and forth and for once, I am not controlling the water below me. When Annabeth and I got back to Hazel, I almost passed out from exhaustion and weakness and I was told to lay down and try to rest while Hazel and Annabeth controlled our small boat. Not being in control of the water feels odd to me but in some sense it also is relaxing. But at the same time, I felt useless. So I followed their orders and fell asleep for a while and when I woke up, Annabeth was on watch. I have been laying awake for a couple of minutes and I know she knows I am awake, but I don't want to talk to her right now.

"Percy." Annabeth finally whispers and I refuse to look at her.

"I don't want to talk right now." I answer.

"Well I do." She says tensely and I sit up slowly to face her. The moon is reflecting off her grey eyes and I can't stop myself from thinking how beautiful she is. And I am pissed at myself for still having feelings for her after everything she has done to Hazel and I.

"I know that I have done some awful things lately and I can't go back and change that but all I am asking is for your forgiveness. I don't know if I can go on if you can't forgive me Percy. I love you still and I am going to do everything I can to make you see me the way you used to. And I know you don't love me anymore but-."

I look at her and sigh, " Every fiber in my being tells me to hate you but I can't. I still love you. I always have, even when you were a monster and you repeatedly told me that you don't love me. I love you and honestly I hate myself for it because I know I shouldn't. I shouldn't love you after everything but I do. Part of me knows that you weren't yourself so I forgive you for what you did because you couldn't control your actions but the other half wonders if all of the things you said were true.I told you when you first came back that I didn't care about what you did there and I still don't. What you did to Hazel's family was awful and I forgive but it will take a while.  I don't know what to believe from you anymore. I don't know how long it's going to be until I can look at you the same way that I once did or if I am ever going to look at you that way again. I forgive what you did to Hazel and those people you killed, but I don't forgive you for what you did to me. I need time to wrap my head around everything. But I love you and I can't change that."

She nods as tears fall across her pale cheeks and she sniffles, "Thank you."

I nod and rub my face tiredly. My body is exhausted and all I want to do is sleep. I try to lie back down but I can hear Annabeth sniffling and I can hear her start to cry. I look at her and she has her face covered with her hands. I figure I should at least ask her if she is ok.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

She looks up at me with her eyes red and swollen. And for the first time since I have known Annabeth, I see a look of pure and unimaginable anguish.

"Annabeth-."

"I'm fine. Just let me be ok?"

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I had to say it." I tell her and she shakes her head. Now I feel bad for being so brutally honest but I had to.

"That's not why I'm crying, Percy. You have every right to feel that way."

"Then why are you so upset? Talk to me."

She looks at me again and says, "I can ask for everyone else's forgiveness but I can't forgive myself for what I did. All of the faces of those people I killed in war and when I was insane are burned into my memory. Every time I close my eyes I see them. And this pain," she says as she clutches her chest and a sob bursts through her throat, "It's constant and I can't stop it. But I deserve every thing that is happening."

"Annabeth, you can't-."

"Yes I can. I can blame because it's my fault that all those people are dead. It's my fault I killed Hazel's aunt. It's my fault that you can't even stand to look at me for too long and I deserve it. I can't even look at myself."

I look at her and she wipes her face. I want to talk to her but I don't know what to say. I hated myself for a while because of the guilt of my mom's, Charlie and Siena's death but I wasn't the person who physically killed them. I have no depth to what Annabeth is feeling and I don't have anything to say right now that would help her.

To change the subject she asks, "How are you feeling? You passed out for 5 hours."

"5 hours? I didn't know I was asleep for that long. Did anything happen?"

"Hazel and I had some trouble sailing the boat but we figured it out. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I am just really tired but maybe that's part of the curse you know or maybe everything about the last couple of days has finally caught up to me. But I don't want to be rude but I am falling asleep so if you don't mind I'm going to go back to bed."

"No you're fine. Goodnight." She smiles and I nod before lying back down on the bench looking at the stars. I try to think of a way to help her but I can't. She is hurting and I don't know what to do because I am still not sure if I should be angry or not be angry with her. I can still love her and hate her at the same time. Two people can love each other so much but not be right for each other. Sometimes love isn't enough. These thoughts eventually make me so exhausted that my eyes close with the image of the bright white stars.

**Annabeth**

I was up all night on watch and every minute I couldn't escape my own thoughts. The silence of the night made everything worse and I don't know how I can go on. I lost everything. And I don't know how to get it back.

It's early morning and Hazel is rowing our small boat. We both thought it was a good idea to give Percy a little more of a break because he does seem very tired and weak. I am not sure if it's just the stress of the trip or something to do with the curse but I hope it wears off in a couple of days. It kills me to see him so drained.

Currently, we are trying to figure out where the key of the sword fits. If we find that, then we find the weapon to defeat Kronos. Hazel suggested going back home and finding some research on the subject since we don't know how much of civilization is still out here. So we are heading back home to regroup and find the answers.

As I am scanning the water, along the horizon, the clouds are getting darker and I see a flash of lightning hit the water. Lighting has always scared me since my father's death and storms aren't a natural occurrence anymore. Zeus and the wind spirits are the only powers that control storms, which mean that somehow Kronos knows what we are doing and now we are going to feel the wrath of Zeus.

"Guys, I think Kronos has figured out our plan." I say as I turn to show them the oncoming storm.

Percy wobbly stands and straightens. He assesses the storm and I see his sea-green eyes scatter and scan the image ahead of him. He looks so worn and older but still so handsome. But I can see that there is something else going on with him because he looks exhausted and he has been sleeping so much. Something is up.

"We should try to get some cover. We are just sitting ducks out here." He commands as he moves into action and walks to the other side of the boat to fix the sails.

"Can't you just fight back and shield us with a wave or something?" Hazel asks and Percy shakes his head.

"I don't know if I can. I am so tired still and I don't want to risk your lives for the sake of me testing out my storm abilities. I have never tried to harness that much power to fight Zeus off and I don't want to rely on that. The best option right now is to get to shore and find somewhere to hide."

Just as we move to row closer to the shore, the storm hits us. Waves are raging and the wind and rain slap against my face as I try to hold on to something. The wind spirits are swirling above our heads and Percy shouts for us to get our weapons while he tries to get us of there with a current. Hazel grasps her knife and I go to grab my bow and arrow but my hand freezes just above it. Flashes of all of those I killed with it run through my mind and I am stuck in the painful memories. I can't move or stop the images. Everything around me sounds muffled. I. Can't. Move.

"ANNABETH! MOVE!" Percy shouts but I barely hear him.

In a swift motion, a huge gust of wind picks me off my feet. I don't feel anything until a sharp cold pain swallows me, and finally the images stop. I am snapped back into reality. All around me is freezing, dark waters. I come up for air and suck in as much air as my lungs can hold. In front of me, I can see the small boat in a distance and the large storm all around us. Lighting cracks and the wind whistles loudly. I can't see if Percy is trying to stop Zeus with anything but it looks like they are stuck. Suddenly, a large wave engulfs me and I am thrown underneath the water once again.

**Percy**

Chaos. That's the only way I can describe the situation. I am trying to get us out of this storm but it's not working. I don't know if it's just because I am tired or Zeus is a freaking god but I can't do anything. I am trying to get a current or a wave to push us to shore but nothing I do is working. I look around to see Hazel fighting off the wind spirits. I look around to see how Annabeth is doing but I can't find her. Finally, I spot her and she is holding her bow and she is stuck in place. She isn't moving and I scream to her.

"ANNABETH! MOVE!"

Nothing seems to be jogging her out of her trance and I move towards her. And just like the rush of a wave, a large gust of wind hits us and I am thrown against the side of the boat. My head hits the wood hard and behind me I hear a large splash. I stand up and look to make sure the others are okay. Hazel looks a little disorientated. I look for Annabeth and I can't find her. Panic hits me and I search frantically around for her. Then it hits me, she is in the water. I turn and see her treading the water but the waves keep pulling her under the water. Lighting strikes close to the boat and I realize I have to get us out of here and I have to get Annabeth.

"Hazel! Cover me!" I scream above the wind and she nods. I grab Riptide and head towards the edge of the boat. I focus my energy and try to feel that tug that I first felt when I figured out my powers. I can't feel anything.

**Annabeth**

Under the water, the currents drag me down and I fight back, kicking me up towards the surface. I suck more air in my lungs and tread against the waves. I can't see what Hazel and Percy are doing on the boat but I keep trying to swim towards them. Nothing seems to be working and in the back of my mind a single thought is present.

_What's the point?_

The thought becomes stronger and suddenly I am contemplating reason to keep fighting. I have already lost everything and I will never be the same person I was. Somehow along the way, I have slowly lost myself, and the old me has disappeared. So what were to happen if I just disappeared? I can't go on like this anymore. What if this how I should go.

Another wave hits me and I struggle once again to the surface. I'm tired of fighting the waves. But I'm more exhausted of fighting myself. They say drowning is the one of the most painful ways to die but it seems peaceful to me. To be carried by the current and to slowly lose consciousness seems like a good way to go. I have lost my self already so why should I go on?

_Just give up._

**Percy**

I keep trying and trying but I know it's useless. I finally figured out what the curse took from me. My powers.

"Percy! We need to get out of here and get Annabeth. The boat is going to break at this rate and one of these times those lighting bolts are not going to miss us!"

I don't answer. I can't.

"PERCY!" Hazel turns to scream at me and I turn to her emotionless. I hold my hands out in front of me and the wind wipes against my body as I tell her.

"My powers are gone."

Her face falls and she looks around for something to get us out. Then she turns and says, "Keep trying. We don't give up."

"But-."

"We. Don't. Give. Up!" She yells and hits a wind spirit with a bolt of magic. That shocks me out of my self-pity and into action. We have to get out of this and I have to get Annabeth back on board. I turn to see how she is doing and she is still treading towards me. I see another wave hit her and I wait for her to come up. A couple of seconds later, she bursts through the waves and struggles to swim towards us. I rack my brain to try to figure out how to get us out of the situation and as I look around, Annabeth catches my eye again. She is far enough where I can't see her facial expression but close to where I can see her. A minute ago she was fighting against the current and now she has stopped. I slowly go to the edge of the boat and wait to see what she is doing because I am not sure what she is doing. She can swim and she can get to the boat. Maybe she is taking a break.

**Annabeth**

I stop myself from fighting and I bob for a little bit before deciding that I can't do this anymore. I can't go on living with this much pain and guilt. I have disappeared and it's fitting to disappear under the waves. I stop kicking and let myself sink.

_I'm not giving up. I'm just giving in._

**Percy**

A gust of wind hits my face as I see Annabeth completely stop swimming. She then slips under and fear seizes my body.

"ANNABETH!" I scream and try to pull her towards me with the current like I was able to do before but I remember that I am powerless. My heart stops and on in impulse I scream to Hazel.

"Stay here!" and then I run and dive into the water. Desperately I swim towards where Annabeth was. Misjudging my lack of powers, I have to come up for air quickly and as I take a breath, I see lighting strike part of the boat. The end of it is on fire and Hazel stands and tries to fight back. I dive back down and swim faster but without my powers, I am slower and I can't handle not being able to get to her faster. I only have a couple of minutes before the water completely fills her lungs.

I get closer and dive deeper. Farther down I see her sinking body and my lungs burn as I try to go to get her. I reach out and my body is telling me to stop but I can't. I can't let her go. Thankfully I get her arm and kick up to the surface. I breathe heavily as I grab her and swim towards the fiery boat. Suddenly, the storm passes and water and sky become calm. Our boat is still on fire but Hazel can stop fighting now and work some magic to repair the boat. The fire stops and I swim quickly with my one arm wrapped around Annabeth.

As I get closer, Hazel yells, "What the hell happened? Is she-oh gods Percy."

"I don't know just help me get her up! Now!" I scream frantically and Hazel pulls her up and I push Annabeth's limp body towards Hazel. Once they are on the boat, I hop up and quickly lay Annabeth on the floor of the boat. Her body is cold and bluish. Without my powers I can't will the water out of her lungs and I rack my brain to try to help her and then I remember a thing my mom taught me when I was younger. Quickly I wrap my hands and start pushing my hands down on her chest, praying to anyone that I am doing it right.

"Percy, what are you doing?"

"M-my mom taught me it. It's called CPR and it should restart her heart."

"I think she needs more then that! I thought she could swim."

"She can. I don't know what happened." I say as I desperately keep performing CPR.

After a couple of minutes, Hazel says, "Percy-."

But I refuse to give up on her. She is not dead.

"No. She is NOT dead. C'mon Annabeth. COME ON!"

"Percy-she doesn't have a puls-."

"SHUT UP! Come on Annabeth. Come on. Fight! FIGHT DAMNIT."

I grab my hand into a fist and slam it as hard as I can on her chest hoping for anything. At first, nothing happens but then Annabeth coughs up water, wheezing for air. I hold her up and she coughs more until she stops.

"Annabeth, what happened?"

She doesn't answer and her eyes are still shut. I shake her hard to wake up but she doesn't open her eyes and I look at Hazel frantically. I check her pulse and she barely has one.

"She is barely alive Hazel. What-what should we do?"

Hazel grimaces and checks her over. Finally, she answers.

"She is very weak so who knows how long she was under water without oxygen. I can do a healing spell to see if that would help but let's hope she doesn't have any brain damage. While I am doing that Percy, I think you need to row us to the nearest shore. We can't go home, especially with Kronos knowing our plans. They are going to come back here and look for us. We need to move as far as we can and then regroup. Got it?"

I look down at Annabeth's limb body and nod.

"Alright. Lay her down on the floor and step away." Hazel commands

I do what Hazel says and watch her perform her magic. Slowly, a blue mist surrounds Annabeth and encompasses her in a small bubble. The bubble starts to spin and Hazel stands.

"This will go on for about a couple of hours which should be enough time for us to find somewhere and get her healed. Do you think she-."

I snap at Hazel," She wouldn't, she knows how to swim. Maybe the current was too strong or something. I couldn't tell because of my powers being nonexistent but she did not try to kill herself."

"Percy, she has been feeling guilty and have you seen her with her fits yet?"

"What fits?" I ask.

"She has these horrible night terrors and flashbacks. They are mostly of all of the things she did in war and while she was not herself but…they are awful. I know you don't want to believe it but maybe she just wanted to give up."

"Annabeth doesn't give up, Hazel. She is a fighter." I tell her as I wring my hands.

"I know but-."

"Then stop talking about it." I stand and go to the steering wheel and start to sail the boat. I know that Annabeth has been feeling guilty and ridden with regret and shame but she would never willingly try to kill herself. That isn't who she is and although she has changed, considering suicide would isn't Annabeth. I know it.

Hazel comes over and says gently, "I know there is something else going on Percy or you wouldn't have snapped at me multiple times when I was helping Annabeth. So what's going on?"

I sigh and look ahead as I start to steer the wheel, "Before I knew about who I was or my powers I was just this ordinary oppressed kid who would probably be forcibly recruited to join Kronos's army and die like most of the kids my age. I never thought I could be something more or that I would have a chance to make this world better. So when I figured out who I was and the powers that I have, I felt like I could be someone. Although everything so far has been awful, I still feel hopeful that I can make this world better. But now…how can I stand a chance with Kronos if I don't have my powers? How can I help others if I can't even move this boat? I couldn't even save Annabeth and now she might-."

"Percy, you can't think like that. She is going to wake up. But it wasn't your fault she almost drowned. As for your powers, I can try to see what spells I know but until then you should just keep trying. But either way you can still make a difference. You already have and besides, powers don't make a hero."

I smile a little. "Thanks Hazel."

"No problem. Let's find some shelter before Zeus finds us again. I don't think our boat could handle another storm."

We sail for hours, Hazel and I switching steering duties while Annabeth is still unconscious. She hasn't changed and I have no idea if the spell is working. Finally, after about three hours of sailing, we find an abandoned dock connected to a sandy shore.

"That looks like a good place to rest and regroup. Let's dock and get Annabeth and food." I say as Hazel turns the wheel and we slowly float towards the dock. Eventually, we hit the dock and I jump out to tie the boat up. Hazel stops the healing spell on Annabeth and she still doesn't wake up.

I look at Annabeth's limp figure and ask Hazel, "Shouldn't we keep her in it for a little longer?"

"No it's been enough time in the spell. She will wake up soon enough."

Carefully, I pick her up and we all hop off the boat towards the shore. As we walk, an arrow shoots out in front of us and almost hits Hazel's foot. We stop and look around with our weapons drawn.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones here." Hazel says as she readies her blade. I scan the beach and see a large group of people walking towards us from out of the trees. They are carrying swords and weapons, and most of them are around my age or younger.

"Hazel, do you think they are demigods too?" I whisper as we stand still and wait for the approaching army.

"It can't be. I thought the small cell, where we are from are the remaining demigods. They must be natives or something else because they are barely clothed. The boys are shirtless and in cut up pants while the girls are covered in ragged, dirty dresses.

"Put down your weapons and state why you are here!" The head girl commands us. Despite her torn and dirty clothes, she is tan and beautiful. She has feathers in her wavy, brown hair. Without even thinking about doing anything differently, Hazel and I drop our weapons and we both say in unison.

"We were attacked and we are just looking for a place to stay and regroup."

When we are done, we both look at each other in confusion. It was like I was controlled to say and do exactly what she commanded. They are definitely not natives.

The girl and her army come closer and soon they surround us and all of their weapons are pointed at us. I carefully hold Annabeth's limp body in my arms and look angrily at the boy who has his bow targeted at her head. Finally, I look at the lead girl and ask, "Who are you?"

"The better question is who are you three and why are you out here." She says forcibly and once again I am overcome with a desire to answer and say, "I am Percy Jackson, this is Hazel and Annabeth. We are demigods and Hazel is a witch from the New World and we are on a mission to find the key to the sword of Achilles to stop Kronos."

Once I am done, I want to slap myself because that was way too much information but I couldn't stop myself. Hazel looks like she wants to slap me herself as she looks at the leader without fear and says, "That's some strong charm speak you have. I have never seen such power and persuasion before."

The leader smirks and answers," Then you can assume that I am also a demigod and you can understand my surprise when two demigods and a witch show up with a plan to kill Kronos. We thought we were the last of our kind."

"Well I guess we can all skip the surprise party and you can all stop pointing your weapons at us." I snap and the girl looks at me and says.

"Well you and my boyfriend should get along. Everyone put down your weapons and lets go back to base with our guest. Jason will get the final word on whether we should believe you or not. Follow me."

Without hesitating, Hazel and I follow the army towards the trees across the beach. On either side of us, we are flanked by armed demigods who hold our own weapons. Carefully, I walk with an unconscious Annabeth and whisper to Hazel, "So who is that girl and how are there demigods all the way out here?"

Without turning around or stopping, the leader says," I am Piper Mclean, daughter of Aphrodite and you are on the shores of what use to be known as Rome. Most of us were born around the same time as you were but most of our mortal parents fled here to try to escape Kronos's decree to kill all demigods. The problem was that at the time of Kronos's uprising, our mortal parents were already in relationships with our godly parents. So believing that if they fled to Rome, they would be protected and could stay in relationships with their god lovers. Some gods remained good as you both know and those relationships with humans were protected and in a couple of years, children were born and were save here. But other gods, like my weak mother, chose Kronos and those children born were in danger. Luckily, the good gods kidnapped those children born to traitor Olympians, brought them here and formed together to cast a cloak around this area. The cloak was designed so Kronos would never find us and we could be save. We have been here for 17 years, some of us longer then that."

"So how many of you are there?" I ask as we continue walking.

"Almost 150. We use to have more but some wanted to see the world around them but never returned. We assumed that there isn't a world to go to is there."

"That's right. It's horrible out there so that why we are taking down Kronos with our smaller demigod group called the Resistance. We have the New York area under our control."

"Well, let's hope you didn't have anyone follow you. We have been here in peace and without discovery and we would all like to keep it that way."

Finally, we enter a large, round wooden hut. Inside there are tables and torches lit. The main feature is a panel of different chairs, and in them sits more demigods. In the middle, a boy who are blonde and muscular motions Piper forward and Hazel and I walk with her.

"Are these the intruders?" He asks, as he looks me up and down. His lip as a tiny scar, which reminds me a little of Luke but his eyes are bright and blue.

"Yes. These three are demigods and a witch. So it explains how they spotted our shores."

The panel of demigods look at Hazel and I like we are criminals or a new discovery. Part of me wishes I had Riptide or my powers to show them that we shouldn't be underestimated but then the other part says that its a good thing because it might mean we are less of a threat to them. Finally, the blonde leader asks.

"What happened to the girl in his arms?" one of the members asks.

"We were attacked by Zeus and she nearly drowned. We were just looking for a place to rest and let her heal before we continue on." I answer and I shift Annabeth carefully in my tired arms.

Suddenly, everyone around us is murmuring and Piper yells, "Silence! Let Jason speak."

The leader, Jason stands and says, "Before I make my final decision with my fellow leaders, I will grant you stay here for the night so your friend can heal. Can a healer come and help?"

A boy with white, blonde hair comes towards me with a stretcher and I carefully put Annabeth on it before they roll her away from me. I want to follow but it seems like this Jason guy has more to say. Personally, I don't really understand how they could be hiding for so long and not want to come out and fight to take Kronos down. It seems selfish and cowardly and I bet Jason is the main culprit for allowing that to go on. Finally, Jason continues.

"Tomorrow, we will decide your fate and what to do with your claim that the thunder god attacked you." Jason glares at me and I lose it.

"What, do you think I am lying!" I scream and everyone gets silent.

"Percy, stop." Hazel whispers but I ignore her and scream at Jason again.

"Zeus did attack us and we have been fighting off every monster that the gods can throw at us for weeks! We are doing everything we can to find a way to stop Kronos while all of you have just been hiding here like cowards!"

My body is shaking from angry and exhaustion and if I still had my powers, I probably would have burst some of the fountains around the hut. Jason stands and walks towards me with deadly eyes and a clenched jaw. He is a little taller then I am but that doesn't stop me from standing my ground.

"Do you have any idea the lengths our parents had to go through to keep us hidden? How many times they couldn't find away to have us all survive due to low food and water? We have a system here that works for us and I intend to keep it that way. Defeating Kronos seems to be your mission, not mine or my people's. So take my kindness and mercy before I show you what I do to those who piss me off."

The pity me act was getting old. None of them know how awful it is growing up in the world. They are shut away from the world and they don't understand that it's their duty to help it.

"NO you don't understand what it's like living outside of this stupid island! NONE of you do! Do you know how many people I watched starve to death because Kronos and his other gods, like Zeus, deprive humans of food! Or how many women and children he forced into slavery! I grew up in a world where it was a miracle that I survived childhood because most kids were killed by disease or their families for food. So when I found out who I was, I wanted to stop Kronos because I finally had the ability to. I can't stand living like this and I want to change the world to stop other kids from growing up like I did. And the demigods from where I am from are smaller and we thought we were the last of our kind. So imagine what we could all do if you all stopped sitting on YOUR ASSES and helped us. We could stop Kronos once and for all and we could all be free."

Everyone is staring and listening to me instead of looking to Jason for answers. He stares me down and after a minute of silence he says, "We will consider your status here and your offer but until then leave with Piper and she will escort you to were the three of you will be staying."

"Fine." I say and walk away.

Piper leads us to a small cabin with two rooms separated but a thin blanket. She looks at us and says, "I hope this is alright. Please report to the council tomorrow for their decision."

"You mean Jason's decision." I snap and she deadpans.

"They all are equal and will vote equally. Goodnight." Piper leaves, I pace around the cabin and Hazel says after a couple of minutes.

"Percy, calm down."

"How can I calm down Hazel! They have been out here for years and they are doing nothing to help us! And besides that, Annabeth isn't waking up and my powers are gone. So don't tell me to calm down."

Hazel sighs and says, "I think Annabeth is behind the sheet if you want to sit with her. I will let you blow off steam. I need some air anyway."

Once she leaves, I walk over to Annabeth and sit down next to her bed. She is breathing normally but she just won't wake up. I told her that I needed time but almost losing her when we are not on the best of terms has made me understand that maybe I need to cut her some slack. Maybe I can forgive her and possibly love her again because life without her…I don't want to think about that.

**PIPER**

After getting our guest situated, I go to find Jason and try to talk some sense into him. I have been pushing him for months to take action and try to figure out what is being done to stop Kronos. Especially after having visions of battles and uprisings in my dreams and on the blade of my weapon, Katoptris. Even my mother, who I have never met, has warned me that the time to act against Kronos is now. I have been yearning to escape this bubble and be free to live my own life and not to be confined to an island shielded from the world but no one seems to understand. Not even Jason, who believes staying out of the fight will protect us all from extinction. But now that we know there are other demigods out there, we can finally fight and be free. Percy is right with all of us on the same side, we can definitely stop Kronos.

I find Jason on one of the many tree balconies of our colonial. He is leaning his forearms against the railing and I can tell that he is in deep thought. All the votes of the council are equal; Jason is the leader of all of us. Ever since our mortal and godly parents at seven years old abandoned us, Jason has taken charge and he was the main reason why we didn't starve to death. Without him, we would all be dead and because of that, we all trust him and respect his authority. But no one knows his internal struggles like I do. He constantly struggles between his duty and his heart, but most of the time his duty overcomes what his heart is telling him to do. I know that he wants to stop Kronos, but as a leader he needs to look at the whole picture, including the casualties.

"Hey." I say as I walk up behind him and Jason turns to look and smile at me.

"Hey there. Exciting day huh?" He says as he holds my hands and plays with my fingers. From the moment we decided to become a couple, we have always had this unspoken connection of knowing when either of us needs the other. And right now, I know that he needs my advice and love.

"Yah. It's a lot to take in for all of us but I bet it's a bit more for you. Look I know that Percy said that they were attacked by your dad but-."

"Ugh Piper I don't want to talk about him. You know that he joined only to save his own ass!"

"Jason maybe he was trying to protect you-."

"Piper, he wasn't. He doesn't care about me or any of my other siblings. He killed my mother with his two hands. He choked her to death and I saw it all! He killed her and then just left." Jason screams and lets go of my hands. Above us the clouds rumble and I know that I have to calm him down before he really gets upset.

"I know. It's awful and you're right. Just calm down and down to me." I say in my charm speak and Jason calms down. Finally he looks at me and holds my hands again.

"Sorry. What do you think I should do with the visitors and Percy's proposal?"

"I think we need to look at it a little more and figure out their plan before jumping into it but I think it would be the right thing to do and it's our calling. That's who we are as demigods. And maybe my dreams and visions were correct."

"Maybe. I really wanted to punch that Percy kid, but he might have a point. If there is a way to take down Kronos then we should consider it."

"Do you think the rest of the council is going to agree?" I ask and he grimaces.

"I hope so. I can't justify joining them without more proof of a plan so that we know it's not going to blow up in our face and kill all of us. But if we can get approval, then I might get to my father and take him down too."

"I know." I rub his arm and he smiles sadly and I decide to change the subject. "So not to change the subject but you know…it is our three year anniversary." I say as I move closer towards Jason and he wraps his arms around me to pull me closer.

"Oh is it? I thought it was just yesterday I decided to date you."

I grimace and laugh and he says embarrassed, "Sorry I told you I was trying to work on my jokes."

"Just shut up and kiss me already."

**PERCY**

The minutes turn into hours and I patiently wait for Annabeth to wake up. The healer has been in and out a couple of times, but her condition has not changed. I have paced up and now the room so much that my feet are starting to hurt. I am starting to lose hope and think of the worse scenario.

As I am pacing, I barely notice Annabeth start to stir until I hear her groan in pain. I move quickly to her side and her eyes slowly open.

"Annabeth?" I ask gently and she winces before asking.

"W-where am I."

"You are safe. We found other demigods and they are letting us stay here for the night. You are alright."

Her eyes skirt around the room and she feels her arms before closing her eyes in pain and suddenly tears start to flow from her eyes.

"Annabeth, it's ok you're safe now."

She shakes her head and a sob escapes her mouth before she says, "Why didn't you just let me die."

My smile drops and I stare at her before saying, "What?"

"Percy, you should have just let me die!"

"Annabeth-."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME DIE!"

Suddenly, she looks around while I try to calm her down and she tries to sit up but I hold her steady. Annabeth struggles against my grasp as I tell her.

"Annabeth, calm down!"

She screams in frustration and punches me hard in my jaw with her free arm. I instantly let go of her and fall to the ground in pain. Annabeth stands up wobbly and runs to other side of the room, where she finds her dagger on the counter. I look towards her blindly in pain and see her holding the dagger to her stomach. Carefully, I stand with my palms out and tell her.

"Stop. You don't have to do this. I can help you get through this."

"No you can't Percy. No one can! You don't understand that it hurts! It hurts so much!" She sobs she pounds her chest with her fist. "This hurts and I can't go do this anymore!"

"Annabeth, that pain you feel, it's going to go away. Trust me it will you just got to put the knife down and then we can talk."

"I can't!" She wails and I come closer to her and I tell her calmly and I can see that she is lowering the knife.

"Yes you can! You're stronger then this. Just drop it."

She finally drops the dagger to the floor with a loud clatter. Quickly, I rush over to her and she is a mess of sobs and howls. Annabeth pounds against my chest and I swiftly wrap my arms around her shoulders and cross her arms to calm her down. She eventually stops struggling and collapses with me to the floor and I turn her around towards my chest as she sobs into my body, vibrating my chest with every gut-wrenching wail. I smooth down her hair and rub her back and push back to sit against the small hut's wooden wall.

I hold her in my arms until her cries stop and the sun rises against the horizon.


	21. Faithfully

Faithfully

**Piper**

It's the morning of the decision that can change my life forever so hopefully I was able to talk Jason into it last or else I will be stuck here for the rest of my life. Instead of meeting the visitors at the meeting, I decide to be a good host and make sure that they are alright and are on their way to the council. The scene in front of me was not what I imagined.

As I walked into their cabin, Percy was trying to get the injured girl from earlier off the floor while Hazel was kneeling in front of her, trying to convince her to eat some food and come to the meeting.

"Annabeth, I'm not going to ask you again. Stand up and eat before I shove this into your mouth." Hazel says annoyed and Annabeth slaps the plate out of her hand.

Hazel moves to hit her but I intervene.

"What the hell is going on here?" I ask concerned for the girl on the floor but the other two are less sympathetic. Percy looks like he could collapse from exhaustion and stress at any moment while Hazel wants to beat the shit out of the girl.

The blonde and grey eyed girl stares at me and snaps, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Piper. The council is waiting so we need to go." I say to all of them and Annabeth screams.

"Leave me alone!"

"Annabeth, you are not staying here alone just so you can kill yourself." Percy whispers tiredly.

"Yes I am! And I hope you're the one to find my body!" Annabeth screams at Percy and he just turns away from her and I look at Hazel for some information. Hazel tells me their whole journey and the difficulty of Annabeth before the curse. I look at Annabeth, whose eyes are distant and broken and tell Hazel and Percy that I know how to help.

"I just need you guys to give us some alone time. Go to the meeting and we will meet you there." I command and of course Percy protests.

"No. I'm sorry but I'm not leaving her."

"Percy-." Hazel whispers, "We have the meeting and I trust Piper. I think she can help Annabeth more then we can."

"And besides Percy, you said you needed space from me. You're not really doing that my suffocating me with your presence." Annabeth glares at him and Percy is about to go off at her and I get in between them.

"Just go. I got this. You have my word that I won't hurt her."

Percy storms off and Hazel says a quiet thank you before going after him and hopefully going to the meeting. Jason doesn't like people being late.

I go to sit down across from Annabeth and as I do, I pull out my knife and slide it over to her. It hits to foot and she looks up at me.

"I thought you promised you wouldn't hurt me?"

"I never said anything about you hurting yourself. Look I don't know you and from what I can tell you got some issues. So if you want to kill yourself do it. It's selfish to put those people that care about you through the stress of helping you if you won't listen and treat them like shit. So do it."

Annabeth hesitates and slowly picks up the knife. As she looks at it, the blade shows her the future and what will happen if she isn't around. Slowly her eyes tear up and she drops it with a sob.

"Why did you show me that!" She screams and I smile.

"Because I have to convince you that the future will be like that if this is how you go. That blade predicts the future and it's pretty accurate. But you can change that. You got a boy who loves you like crazy and you want to kill yourself? What's wrong with you!"

"I hurt Percy too much already. He doesn't love me and I'm too shattered to ever be enough for him."

"Annabeth, Percy loves you. My mom is the goddess of love and I can tell when two people are meant for each other. He might still be hurt but he can't fight those feels for you no matter how much he tries. But he is trying so much and you keep pushing him away. If you love him, you got to fight for him and show him you care."

"I don't know how. I keep seeing all of their faces and I can't stop it. I can't forgive myself. So when I was tossed in the water during the attack, at first I kept swimming but then I kind of stopped and wondered what would happen if I just slipped away. I want to love Percy again and be normal but I can't forgive myself for everything I did."

"Annabeth, everyone is guilty of something. But we all have learned to move past it."

"Well I don't deserve that. I have done too much already."

And then I realize that I have to use some of my charmspeak to have her forgive herself. Annabeth can have everyone forgive her but until she understands that she wasn't herself and it's not her fault, she will never be able to forgive and heal. So I do what I know best.

"Annabeth, look at me."

Her grey eyes stare at me and I use my powers on full force, "You have to forgive yourself."

She tries to turn away and I quickly grab her face and force her to look at me, "The guilt inside you, it's going to kill you or you will kill yourself one of these days and then everything on that dagger will happen. Percy will be lost and we will probably not defeat Kronos. Then it will be all your fault. Stop letting it control you! What happened to you, there was no way for you to control anything? You were possessed and you had no emotions to tell you that what was going on were wrong. In the moment, you did what your body and mind thought were right. Annabeth, you have to forgive yourself."

Annabeth's eyes go from lost and sad to a vibrant grey color and I know that my charm speak worked. Tears are running down her cheeks and she smiles a little at me. I let go of my hold on her cheeks and she says quietly.

"Thank you Piper. You-you saved my life."

"It's alright. Let's clean you up and then you need to go to the meeting with me."

**PERCY**

Hazel and I are standing before the council while Jason keeps rattling on about how they support our mission against Kronos but for the safety of the colony, they can't keep us here. My hands are clenched and I blurt out.

"We have a weapon that will destroy him!"

Everyone whispers and the room gets silent as Jason stands and asks, "What weapon could defeat him? And how do you know that it will work?"

"Because Percy is the prophecy and part of that prophecy includes the weapon that will end Kronos and restore humanity." A familiar voice says behind me. I turn and see Annabeth and Piper walking in. wearing a long, loose grey dress and carrying her dagger. She looks different, and she seems ready to fight. I smile quickly and Annabeth comes forward.

"The prophecy states that a son of Poseidon will be able to defeat Kronos by the help of a past hero. That hero is Achilles. We have found his long lost sword and now we are searching for the place that the sword opens. That is what we were looking for before we were attacked by Zeus."

"Who are you I might ask?" Jason questions and Annabeth says proudly, "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

Murmurs and chatter start around us and Jason calls for silence again. He continues, "How do you expect me to put my people in jeopardy if this doesn't succeed? If this fails all of their blood will be on your hands, Percy and Annabeth. I hope you can be able to live with that."

Before I can answer Annabeth says, "If it's worth saving our world then I can live with that. I have learned how to live with the blood on my hands. But if you don't join us, somehow Kronos will come and find you. And then you will be helpless and this colony will burn to the ground, like so many have where we are from. Then your people's blood will be on your hands. Do the right thing, Jason. You know what has to happen."

Jason goes back and sits down while the council members surround him and chatter fills the room quickly. After a few minutes, Jason stands and silence falls upon the room.

"The council and I have overturned our previous decision. We believe that in the best interest for the colony, we will join the Resistance's effort and help stop Kronos. But for those who do not agree with this, no one is forced to join and fight. This is own your own accord. Council dismissed."

People slowly trickle out and I turn to Annabeth. I look down at her and ask, "How did you do that? You basically just convinced him in two minutes."

"Well I think Jason just needed someone to tell him that there is a way to stop Kronos and he needed a reason to know he can trust us. Percy, I think you should go talk with him. You both have powerful fathers and you both might be able to come up with a plan to find the last piece to Achilles."

"How do you know his father?" Piper says.

"It's in his features. And the way that he is a natural leader. It's pretty obvious."

"Annabeth, you seem…different. Are you alright?" I asked concerned and gently touch her arm because an hour ago she wanted to kill herself and now she seems back to herself. Sure, she still seems a little on edge but she is hopefully better.

"Yes. Thanks to Piper, I am doing much better. But go talk with Jason, you and I can talk later."

I nod and look around to see Jason slip out and I follow him.

"Jason!" I call and he stops and turns, "I want to say thank you. And I know that that wasn't easy but I think if we work together we can stop Kronos."

"I hope so. I would like to get off this island one of these days." He answers sharply.

"Trust me, this is the best place to be for a demigod. Where I am from, it's hell. And it doesn't help when your father is part of the reason." I mutter and my spine shivers at the thought of my father and what he has done to help Kronos stay in power.

"I understand completely. Have you met your father at all."

"Yah. The first time wasn't the best."

Jason nods and says, " Same here. My father killed my mom."

I look at him and I feel some sort of connection. Sure, he can be uptight and his superiority complex is annoying but although I haven't known Jason for a while, losing his mother to something so violent is something that I can understand. I don't say I'm sorry or anything likes that because if Jason is like me at all, it isn't genuine after a while.

"My mother was killed by Ares." I say quietly and look off towards the forest up ahead. I then ask Jason, "How long ago did you lose your mom?"

"Two years ago. My father allowed my mother to live while Kronos was rising as I assume your father did. He helped secretly to build this place and when Kronos found out, he tried to kill me. Kronos did kill my sister and since then, my mother was never the same. She spent her whole life trying to find a way off the island and find my sister because she doesn't believe she is dead. My dad kept my mom alive only if she promised him not to look for my sister. My mother disobeyed him and tried to leave the island. He executed her right in front of me as a lesson. That's why I'm not so thrilled with having everyone I care about charge into combat and leave the island just because you say you know how to kill Kronos."

"I do. Trust me. I just need to find where the sword fits. And then I will be able to get the curse and use it."

"So that cave myth was real? Once your friend told me what you were looking for, I knew we had a chance at stopping Kronos. How did you manage to survive the curses?" Jason asks bewildered and I grimace.

"I survived because it took something else that mattered to me. I lost my powers. I discovered that while we were fighting your dad on the open sea. I couldn't do anything to stop him or to get us out of there. I was useless."

Jason looks at me and answers, "Gods, that's awful. I can't imagine losing mine. But you do have other abilities besides your powers I hope. I don't want a lame duck charging into battle with me."

I laugh, "I know how to use a sword and I have been in a couple of battles."

Jason nods and I decide to ask him a question that has been on my mind since he told me about his sister.

"Hey, not to be rude but what was your sister's name?"

"Thalia. I was really young when she died but I still remember her." Jason says sadly and the name bugs me and it's if I remember hearing Annabeth say that name somewhere. Then I remember it was her friend while she was at war with her mom. His sister is still alive and he has no idea.

"Wait, I know-."

Suddenly, a twist of fog appears in front of us and from it comes a thin, pale boy. He has dark messy hair with dark circles under his eyes. Instantly, Jason recognizes him and says.

"Hey Nico."

Nico looks at me and motions, "This him?"

"Yes. This is Percy, son of Poseidon. He found it."

Instantly, Nico's eyes light up and he says, "So the myth is true? Where's the sword?"

Both Jason and Nico wait for my answer and I don't want to tell them because I barely know them nor do I trust them that much. So instead I decide to change the topic.

"Anyway, before I was interrupted by mysterious fairy boy over here, I think I kno-."

"Do you know what the purpose of that sword is?" Nico interrupts me again and I am too interested to call him out for shutting me up.

"No, I don't. My friends and I were trying to figure it out before we got attacked."

Nico and Jason look at each other and Jason says, "This is our chance. What does your dad think?"

"I think he would agree. Did the council approve?"

"Once Percy's girlfriend convinced me he wasn't an idiot-."

I yell, "Mind telling me what is happening?"

Nico turns to answer me, " For a long time, Jason and I have been tracking where the sword was. We have heard about the prophecy and we know that this can help change everything. Kronos spared my father, Hades, because death is a constant and frankly, the Underworld is outside of Kronos's powers. So Kronos doesn't bother him and he has been working for the Resistance with the other good gods to find the sword. We knew one of the Big Three would be the finder, but we never knew Poseidon had son. So we always thought it would be one of us and we have been doing everything we can to find it."

"But you can't leave the island?" I look at Jason and he answers.

"I can't. But Nico can and he has been shadow traveling everywhere looking for it. But now that you have found it we can finally fight back."

"So why were you so against joining us and why didn't you say this sooner?"

"I didn't know if you could be trusted. But now I know you can. You have to trust us too. We are all trying to do the same thing here."

"This is going to stop Kronos. My father is certain." Nico assures me and after a while I ask.

"What's next?" I ask hesitantly and Nico says.

"You need to bathe in the River Styx in my father's home, the Underworld. That's where Achilles was initially bathed in and he became invincible except for his Achilles obviously. If you have that, your powers and the sword, you will be more then an equal match for Kronos."

I grimace and Jason tells Nico, "The curse took away his water abilities. His powers are gone."

Nico looks me up and down, as if he is figuring out if I will still be able to defeat Kronos. "We can figure it out. But if you are doing this Percy, we have to do it now. The Resistance is failing.

"I thought we were winning. When we left, the Resistance was doing alright."

Nico shakes his head with a solemn look on his face, "New York has been reclaimed by Ares. Since you have been gone, fifty demigods have been executed with more on the way. Athena has been captured and Kronos has sent Ares to kill and pillage all those who helped them. Your home will soon be non-existent Percy unless you stop Kronos soon."

My face starts to drip sweat and I resign to the fact that this is the only way to stop Kronos and save my home.

"What do I have to do?"

They both smile and Nico tells me more about the plan as we head in to tell the others. Annabeth, Hazel and Piper are all talking happily when we come in to tell them about the news. Initially, Annabeth and Hazel are against me doing this but once Nico informs them about our home, they both agree and we all decide on an action plan. Eventually, we decide that tomorrow I will go with Nico to the Underworld and dip into the Styx while Jason and the others start to prepare for war. We attack in three days.

Annabeth, Hazel and I meet everyone who is going to be part of our war effort. Reyna is head of the army and her second in command, Frank, will train more troops and round up veterans and hunters. Leo who is in charge of making the weapons. Annabeth, Jason and Reyna all start to talk about battle tactics while Hazel and Frank talk to each other, both of them blushing and talking in silent tones. Eventually, I am out of the group, standing around waiting for someone to ask me how I feel about what tomorrow will bring. Anxiety grabs at my chest and I head to go get some air. I walk for a while, going through everything and what the next couple of days will bring.

By the end of my walk, I am so exhausted that I totally forgot about my other problem until I was forced with it when I walked into the room.

"Oh you're back. I was expecting you to be gone a little longer. I saw you sneak out." Annabeth says as I walk into a room full of lit candles. I look at her confused and ask.

"What's this?"

Annabeth nervously plays with an unlit match and walks forward a little, " I'm usually not into the big romantic gestures and I certainly don't do them myself but Piper thought I needed any help I could get so I did this. And it's really going to suck if I say what I have to say and you don't say something along the same lines. So um I know I put you through hell these last couple of weeks and I am sorry for that. I am better then I was and I need you to know that I know you're still angry and hurt. I know you don't believe me when I say that I love you after everything I did to you but I do. I love you Percy. I'm ready to start again with you if you will let me. Especially since to everything will change these next couple of days. I don't want to go into this and not have you by my side. I believe we can be unstoppable together and I need you. Just please give me another chance."

I look at her and my head is spinning. I should say no that I couldn't do this again with her because she has hurt me so much and I don't know if I can ever forget that. But I can't fight my feelings for her anymore. I love her after all this time and I want to be with her. It might be hard and difficult to forgive each other for what we both have done through these last couple of weeks but I can't go to the Underworld and fulfill my destiny knowing that we aren't together. We are strong on our own but together we are unbreakable. She looks at me worriedly and waiting for my answer. Moments pass and I finally answer.

"I love you."

A huge smile breaks across her face as I walk towards her and continue to tell her how I feel.

"I loved you since the first time I met you. You saved me so many times and in my darkest times, your love and kindness were overwhelming. I can't lie and say that I didn't hate you these last couple of months because I did. I hated you for making me question who I was to you and our love for each other. There were so many times when I wanted to walk away from you and sometimes I did a little bit but I always came back because I could never leave you. I'm glad I stated and fought for you because that is what love is. It's fighting for the good out of each other especially when we are surround by darkness. I swear to you that I will always pull you out of the darkness, Annabeth. There are going to be times when we fight or disappoint one another but I will always come back and fight for you."

I stand in front of Annabeth and tears are streaming down her cheeks and I cup them softly and with a finger wipe her tears away. "I will always fight for you."

"Percy-."

But I kiss her before she can finish her sentence. When our lips touch after all this time, it's almost as if we never stopped. It's magical and our lips move simultaneously, slowly and softly both of us relishing this kiss and hoping never to stop. Eventually we have to both pull away for air and I have to make sure this isn't a cruel dream. I gently touch Annabeth's face and trace every feature. Her eyes are as gorgeous as before and they aren't empty or filled with angry and grief. They sparkle against the candlelight and I pull her against my chest. She tucks her head under my chin.

"I missed you so much." I whisper into her hair.

She pulls away to look at me and her eyes search for something as they dart around my face and finally she sighs and she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me down towards her lips. A fire ignites in both of us and our kisses turn to fervent embraces, both of us trying to get closer and closer until we can't move any further. My fingers knot through her waves and my hands grip her back. I hold her steady as her hands roam my chest and slowly she pushes me towards the small cot considered a bed. I flop down on it but pull her down with me and her tone body is on top of mine. Our kisses become more passionate and desperate as both of us are trying to rediscover each other. Slowly, we both shed away the confines that keep us apart and as we break to get readjusted, I ask her a simple question.

"Are you sure?" I ask as I hover over her body and Annabeth nods and says.

"Yes." She answers and pulls me down towards her lips and kisses me hard but with love.

Throughout the night, we sway and bend together, our bodies sweating and shivering together. Each move makes us slowly fall in love with each other again and being with her makes me stronger then I was. After all this time, I know that Annabeth makes me feel invincible and even though I have to become invincible tomorrow, I know that as long as she is with me, I will never falter. She is my Achilles heal and every touch and kiss further cements that. As the evening turns into the dark of the night, the only thing we can see is each other's bare, glistening body only through candlelight and the glow of the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think and leave some comments or kudos! And you can talk to me on my blog on tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember to leave some Kudos! And comment to tell me what you think! Thanks! :)


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